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CONTENTS
SAAL Quarterly is under the editorship of Dr T. Ruanni F. Tupas and Beatriz P. Lorente. Please address your correspondence and contributions to: Dr T. Ruanni F. Tupas (elcttr@nus.edu.sg), Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260.
SAAL Lecture by Professor Sandra Lee McKay
The Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics (SAAL) The Cultural Basis of Teaching English as an International Language
Date: 10 March 2005 (Thursday) Abstract This lecture will focus on the role of culture in the teaching of an international language. It will begin with a discussion of the characteristics of English as an international language, the reasons for its spread, and the many varieties of English that presently exist. The speaker will then go on to discuss the significant role that culture plays in language teaching in:
Useful strategies for incorporating culture in the English language classroom will also be suggested. Throughout the lecture, the speaker will argue that the role of culture in teaching an international language needs to be significantly different from the role of culture in the teaching of other languages. About the Speaker: Sandra McKay is Professor of English at San Francisco State University where she teaches courses in sociolinguistics, methods, and materials for graduate students in TESOL. Her books include Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches (2002, Oxford University Press, winner of the Ben Warren International Book Award), New Immigrants in the US: Readings for Second Language Educators (edited with Sau-ling Wong, 2000, Cambridge University Press) and Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching (edited with Nancy Hornberger, 1996, Cambridge University Press). Her interest in English as an international language developed from her extensive work in international teacher education in countries such as Chile, Hong Kong, Hungary, Latvia, Morocco, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand. Currently she is completing a research methodology text for Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. About the Chairperson: Dr Chng Huang Hoon teaches at the Department of English Language & Literature, National University of Singapore. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of language, gender, law and ideology. Her book entitled Separate and Unequal: Judicial Rhetoric and Women's Rights is published by John Benjamins, Amsterdam (2002). She has also published several journal articles and book chapters on the subject of identity construction and feminist theory & practice. She may be contacted at ellchh@nus.edu.sg. ↑ Top | ← Publications New Year greetings from the SAAL EXCO (2004-2006)! We hope the start of 2005 finds you well, and that the coming year will be a good one for you. In this note, we wish to keep you informed about a few SAAL matters: SAAL 20th Anniversary Celebrations SAAL was established in 1985, and 2005 marks the 20th Anniversary of SAAL's establishment. The EXCO will be planning the following string of events for all SAAL members and friends to mark this occasion:
Our events will not be successful without your support. We therefore hope to see you (and your friends) at all the above events. SAAL Quarterly Online We conducted a survey of the membership in 2004 to determine if SAAL members prefer to receive the SAAL Quarterly in soft or hard copy. The membership was evenly split on this matter, with about half voting each way. The SAAL EXCO therefore voted on the matter, and the majority decided to exploit the SAAL website and host the Quarterly online. Hence, from February 2005, the Quarterly will be made available in soft copy only. As you can see, the new EXCO has been fairly busy since we took over the SAAL leadership in August 2004. We would very much like to involve you, the members of SAAL, in all our academic and social efforts. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us whenever you have an idea to share. Wishing you good health and happiness in the New Year, take care!
CHNG HUANG HOON ↑ Top | ← Publications
English in Singapore: An Introduction. It always seems such a pity in Singapore when courses on language variation and language in society make use of textbooks written in Britain which focus on pronunciation in places such as Liverpool and Newcastle. However well written and authoritative texts such as Trudgill (1995) are, regular reference to patterns of speech in Norwich is rather unfortunate when Singapore itself has such a wealth of fascinating linguistic data for us to use as illustrative material in the courses we teach on sociolinguistics. Although this new book on Singapore English (SgE) does not try to encompass the whole sociolinguistic scene here, restricting itself as it does to English and not attempting to describe usage patterns of other languages such as Chinese, Malay and Tamil, it does an excellent job of presenting the material carefully and clearly in a methodical format that makes it eminently suitable as an introductory text. While some existing books, such as Gopinathan et al (eds. 1998) and Ooi (ed. 2001), provide invaluable collections of papers on a range of linguistic issues in Singapore, and others, particularly Foley et al (eds. 1998), include chapters on the core areas such as grammar and pronunciation, none of them present the material in a gradual, structured way suitable for an introductory course, and when one reads through this book, one wonders why nobody has tried to do it before. After an introduction considering the status of different varieties of English in the world, the book provides an overview of the history of English in Singapore. It then describes variation in SgE before discussing features of the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Finally there is an analysis of SgE usage in an illustrative literary text before the last chapter considers the implications for teaching. Five out of the fourteen chapters (a total of 66 pages, nearly one third of the book) deal with pronunciation, which is perhaps not surprising as so much previous research on SgE involves phonetics (eg Brown et al, eds. 2000) and also this represents the main research interest of the authors. But there is also substantial coverage of grammar, with the longest chapter (40 pages) building substantially on recent research findings on the grammar of SgE (eg Deterding et al, eds. 2003), and in addition the chapter on vocabulary includes a detailed analysis of the processes involved in the adoption of new words and the ways that other words have shifted meanings. In order to ensure it is accessible to students with little background in linguistics (though basic familiarity with IPA symbols is assumed), this book provides detailed background explanation of grammatical and phonetic issues before describing the patterns found in Singapore. This means that quite a lot of the text is actually about Standard English (StdE), and occasionally one wonders whether we really need so much background information in order to understand SgE. For example, pages 165 to 166 introduce the analysis of intonation according to the British tradition, including an explanation of how the tone unit is broken into pre-head, head, nucleus, and tail, but surely in order to understand the issues involved in the analysis of SgE intonation, it is just necessary to state that identification of a clear nucleus is often not possible for SgE, so discussion of the pre-head, head and tail seems somewhat redundant. The chapter on vocabulary also includes lots of material on StdE, with the admirable goal of demonstrating that the processes by which new words are introduced or existing words undergo shifts in meaning follow similar patterns in SgE as StdE. However, when data from both StdE and SgE are provided in order to illustrate certain points, it sometimes gets confusing which examples are from SgE and which are from StdE. For instance, for student and tuition the StdE usage is explained first (p. 84), but on the following page, for elite and kindly the SgE usage is discussed before StdE, and it might have been better to adopt a standard format, maybe by always presenting the StdE examples first as background for understanding SgE. Occasionally, not only is the order of presentation of StdE and SgE data confusing, but even a careful perusal of the text does not reveal which variety is involved, as for instance there is no clear indication that PIE and RELC are Singaporean entities while CD-ROM is StdE (pp. 75-6). One suspects that in future we will find some students discussing CD-ROM as a uniquely Singaporean neologism. The previous examples concerning acronyms illustrate one further issue with this book. Although it aims to be suitable both for people outside Singapore with an interest in this New Variety of English as well as local students who want to find out more about their own ways of using the language, and in general everyone is likely to find most of the material both fascinating and extremely valuable, non-Singaporeans may be left bewildered by a few of the examples. For instance, there is no explanation of what the PIE or the MRT are, so anybody not familiar with Singapore is likely to find these examples a bit frustrating. And although there are extensive and carefully thought-out exercises throughout the book, in reality only people from Singapore will be able to attempt some of them, as for example only the StdE usage of slipper and porridge is explained in the exercise on page 86, so non-locals will have to consult the keys at the back of the book to find out how these words are used in Singapore. Furthermore, the SgE expressions sabo, Taka and ulu are presented but not explained in an exercise on word formation processes on page 73, and in this case even consultation of the key does not provide any help. However, these are minor gripes, as most of the material is explained in considerable detail, so there are only a few places where non-locals will be left in the dark. One issue that may arise with some readers is whether it is really possible to attempt a unified description of SgE when in reality there is so much variation, as local usage of English depends on a range of factors including level of education and formality of the situation, and this can lead to some conflicting data. For example, at the end of the chapter on vowels, it is suggested (p. 127) that there is often no distinction in SgE between the long and short vowels in words such as beat and bit, and also that the three non-close vowels in bet, bat and bear tend to be merged, which results in an inventory of three front phonemes, illustrated by beat, bait and bet. This analysis is standard, and has previously been suggested in Bao (1998) and Deterding & Poedjosoedarmo (1998: 156). However, earlier in the same chapter, there is the further observation (p. 117) that the vowel in fade may be quite short with the result that fade and fed often sound the same, and if this is true, then surely there are only two front vowels. So which is correct: are there two or three front vowels in Singapore English? The answer, of course, is that it depends on which variety one is discussing: less well-educated speakers may only have two front vowels, while better educated speakers will have three (or more), especially in more formal situations. So is it really feasible to try to provide a single account of SgE? Problems such as this with variation within an accent are inevitable for all language varieties and often cause controversy. Even RP, an accent with a well-established standard that has been widely described, includes a range of styles such as U-RP, adoptive RP and Near-RP (Wells, 1982), and so long as the degree of variation is acknowledged and clearly documented, then this should not put us off attempting a description. Perhaps the key word in the fade/fed example above is "often": within SgE, conflation between these two vowels may sometimes occur, and its occurrence is a feature of the linguistic scene in SgE. But this does not in any way suggest that it always occurs in SgE, or even that it usually occurs. This is a crucial concept which is covered quite adequately in this book, particularly within chapter 3, and as long as readers always keep in mind that it is tendencies that are being described, not absolutes, then such patterns of variation should not deter us from documenting the occurrence of such tendencies. Similarly, one can note that there is a tendency in SgE for word-initial dental fricatives to be replaced by /t/ and /d/, but nobody is suggesting that all speakers do it or indeed that speakers always do it (p. 133). In conclusion, this book does an excellent job in explaining all the issues involved with SgE in a clear, authoritative, well-researched fashion that will be appreciated both by Singaporeans, especially those taking introductory courses in sociolinguistics and Singapore English, and also by readers from around the world, even if the latter group might find one or two of the examples a bit mystifying. References
Reviewed by David Deterding ↑ Top | ← Publications CURRENT RESEARCH BY SAAL MEMBERS Changing patterns and attitudes: Naming practices among Malay Singaporeans (Research project), Chng Huang Hoon and Peter Tan, National University of Singapore In research on words, the category of proper names has exercised the minds of linguistic philosophers, with proper names being said to emphasise reference (over sense) and connotation (over denotation). Partly because of these characteristics, personal names play an important part in the linguistic culture of many communities. Evidence of hybridised communities can often be found in hybridised personal names. For example, the majority Chinese community in Singapore has been seen to have undergone some language shift towards English and the Englishisation (hybridisation) of personal names of this community is clearly evident through the use of English given names. However, the local Malay community is generally perceived as having been able to hold on to its traditional values. However, well known Malay actors in Singapore include Sharon Ismail and Aaron Aziz: Sharon and Aaron (rather than its cognate Harun) are English names. We therefore investigate if it is in fact correct to say that the community is culturally conservative through their attitude towards personal naming. Our data consist of name lists as well as questionnaires and interviews to tease out their attitudes towards 'traditional' Malay names, Englishised names as well as Arabicised names. Englishised or Arabicised names can be seen through the actual name choices, orthographic manipulation or the use of particular pet forms. Respondents are categorised according to age and education level. Through this we will comment on the changing patterns in and attitudes to personal naming in the Malay community in Singapore. Exploring the interplay between verbal and nonverbal behaviours in a student's oral presentations (Research project), Luisa C. Sadorra, Jason Zhirong Gan, Manuel R. Gamboa, National University of Singapore Microananalytic studies on the role of nonverbal behaviours in instructional contexts, learner articulation, and gestural movements and informational organization have shed light on the relationship of language and gestures in the areas of learning and communication (see Koschmann, Glenn, & Conlee, 2000; Koschmann & LeBaron, 2002; Lazaraton, 2004). However, a lacuna of gesture studies in the domains of education and educational psychology still exists (see Roth, 2003). The present study pursues investigation of learner articulation in the learning setting of individual students' oral presentations, an increasingly common preparation for workplace communication. This paper focuses on one undergraduate student's construction of meaning in oral presentations based on the features, occurrences, and functions of his gestures and other nonverbal behaviours and codes (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996) within two oral presentations delivered in a Professional Communication class. Both teacher researcher and student speaker present their individual and joint analyses of these oral presentations, with the student sharing his reflections on his performance and himself as speaker and the teacher using fragments of the digitized presentations to illustrate the unravelling of meaning through the interplay of verbal and nonverbal communication. Implications for teaching and evaluating oral presentations will be discussed. (Research project in partnership with the Centre for Instructional Technology, National University of Singapore.) Methods and materials for motivation: Choosing the right textbook and learning strategies for learner autonomy, Conference papers*, Phyllis Wachob, Nanyang Technological University Motivation is the key to success in learning a foreign or second language (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003). For those who are trying to master material not for its own sake, but as means to another end, such as conducting business in a second language, English proficiency courses can seem a burden. The English Proficiency course for first year Nanyang Business School students aims to improve the English of students who do not meet standards, in a very short period of time. The students have only 22 hours to 'fix their language skills.' Thus, encouraging these students to be autonomous, independent learners is crucial to the success of improvement beyond the classroom. Previously the course depended heavily on a punitive 'pass the exam' model as the primary motivating factor. In 2003, the course was redesigned to: 1) put more emphasis on continuous assessment, 2) include speaking activities and assessment, 3) change the methodology to collaborative learning, 4) emphasize critical thinking skills through self and peer evaluation, 5) focus on discussion and writing that make students reflect, 6) encourage active and interactive projects that provoke emotions, and 7) include a modified intervention tool of pre and post course questionnaires on motivation. Choosing textbooks for the classroom can be a daunting task as many textbooks may fall short in terms of scope, comprehension, relevance and cultural appropriateness. In 2004, a new textbook, especially written for this course (Wachob, 2004), was introduced that reinforced methods for greater motivation, keeping in mind the four factors above. The goal was to motivate first year Singaporean Business students to understand the importance of good English language skills for their academic and professional life. The problem of textbook selection is exemplified by the title of a recent paper, 'Six inches of snow fell last night', which was contained in an exercise from a previous text. But the inappropriateness of the 'inches' and 'snow' was not the only problem. Comprehensive textbooks are cumbersome and 'one size fits all' means it may fit no one. American or British vocabulary, jargon, place names and references to famous people bored and confused students. The relevance of Western social issues to the beginning business student was dubious. Cultural issues in Western countries, where students are immigrants or belong to a lower social class, are unlike those of most Singaporean students who belong to the majority racial group and are middle-class. The paramount issue was motivation, so authentic business texts such as emails, memos and letters were used. Group discussion on business ethics replaced current social issues. Finally, motivation was emphasized through self-reflective practices such as peer reviews, analysis of the students' own texts and a reflection section in each chapter. The methodology of teaching, as incorporated in the textbook and the curriculum, emphasized collaborative learning through active and interactive projects centered on Business. Students who enjoy their classes, understand why they are studying a subject, are given tools to acquire or hone learning skills and strategies, and reflect on their learning are more motivated. And more motivated students are more autonomous, taking their learning interests and skills beyond the classroom. References
*These topics were presented in two recent conference papers.
(Cultural) voices from a classroom in Singapore: The limits and possibilities of contrastive rhetoric (Conference paper), T. Ruanni F. Tupas, National University of Singapore In its traditional sense, the immediate task of contrastive rhetoric is to identify the first language rhetorical practices of 'non-native' learners of English, explain how and why students bring them into their use of English, and help teachers improve their teaching through an understanding of their students' rhetorical backgrounds. This paper explores the limits and possibilities of Contrastive Rhetoric as viewed from a professional classroom context in Singapore. First, the paper will briefly review the theoretical beginnings of Contrastive Rhetoric in the late 1960's and demonstrate how it has expanded its scope in the 1980's and 1990's to accommodate criticisms hurled against it. Second, it will review some important concerns still raised by a number of scholars regarding the general assumptions even of a broadly defined Contrastive Rhetoric. These concerns include the charge of cultural essentialism and stereotyping, the textualisation of culture, and the oversimplified definition of 'culture'. And third, the paper will demonstrate through an analysis of student written works in a professional communication course how Contrastive Rhetoric -- through its attempts to deal with the questions raised by its critics -- can simplify and, at the same time, complicate our understanding of the complex workings of culture in the language classroom. The paper ends by arguing that the field's theoretical and pedagogical assumption of rhetoric as a cultural phenomenon remains a powerful theoretical impetus in the analysis of classroom texts as cultural artifacts and practices, but we need to continue to refine the ways by which we understand, and teach, such texts. ↑ Top | ← Publications ISLS stands for International Society for Language Studies. 2002: Professors from universities in the United States and Canada began planning a conference to be held in St. Thomas, USVI, with the theme of "The Transformation of Language Education and Research." The discussions led to the suggestion that a new scholarly association, in addition to a mere single conference, was needed. 2003: As the 2003 inaugural conference of the International Society for Language Studies approached, scholars from around the globe began to join the fledgling association. These scholars included members from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America. A number of these members converged in St. Thomas for what was perhaps the most beautiful setting imaginable for a conference. 2004: At the start of 2004, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates began publishing Critical Inquiry in Language Studies: An International Journal, the official journal of the society, edited by Terry A. Osborn and Timothy Reagan. A journal subscription became an automatic benefit of membership. In 2004, the Executive Board announced plans to begin holding annual conferences, beginning in 2005. 2005: Montr¨¦al will be the 2005 gathering site for the Society's members. Future conferences are scheduled for Singapore in 2006 and Hawaii in 2007. Information taken from the ISLS website: http://www.isls-inc.org/. ↑ Top | ← Publications
Multilingualism & Applied Comparative Linguistics (MACL) Aim: In recent years, there has been a proliferation of research related to issues of multilingualism and cross-cultural communication. Because of the vast nature of this enterprise, this research has often been carried out within separate disciplines, such as educational linguistics, cultural linguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, translation studies, comparative terminology studies and studies of domain-specific languages. This conference, however, aims at a more multidisciplinary approach and will bring together experts from different branches of applied linguistics who share a common interest in the applicability and/or application of comparative linguistic insights to the following core domains:
Organisers: Erasmushogeschool Brussel & Free University of Brussels in the framework of University Association Brussels (UAB) & KUB (Katholieke Universiteit Brussel). Website: http://www.macl.be. ↑ Top | ← Publications NEW JOURNAL IN DISCOURSE STUDIES
Journal of Multicultural Discourses It is fair to say that existing journals on discourse, and on language and communication more generally, are largely oriented to the Western intellectual world. The philosophies, theories, methods, issues and data that they treat and the authors that they give voice to tend to be Western in origin and/or in orientation. Consequently, the voices and concerns of the non-Western world are repressed or ignored. In this sense, the scholarly discourses remain largely univocal or, one might argue, a-cultural, though often under the guise of universality. The international context, both academic and ordinary, has changed, however. The subjugated non-Western, non-White and Third World cultures are crying out to reclaim identities; the worsening cultural division and domination call for culturally democratic dialogue and exchange. In discourse scholarship and especially in critical approaches to social science, too, there is increasing awareness of the need to complement the celebrated interdisciplinarity with cultural equality and diversity. To break free from traditional cultural bondages and to facilitate the politics of cultural solidarity and common cultural prosperity, Multilingual Matters, a market-leading publisher in the field, is launching a new journal in discourse studies, entitled Journal of Multicultural Discourses (ISBN 1744-7143). Edited by Shi-xu (Zhejiang University, China), the journal will appear in early 2006. Volume 1 will consist of two issues, with 4 issues per volume from Volume 2 (2007) onwards. The journal features divergent disciplines, ranging from discourse studies, cultural studies, communication studies, anthropological linguistics, literary criticism, to critical pedagogy. For more info about the journal, go to http://www.multilingual-matters.com/. ↑ Top | ← Publications
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