New Child Language SIG, Singapore

[Madalena Cruz-Ferreira]

Dear all,

I am very pleased to announce the constitution of a new Special Interest Group, the Child Language SIG, with the Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics (SAAL). The SAAL was responsible for the organisation of the AILA 2002 congress here in Singapore.

Below is a copy of the announcement of the first SIG meeting. Could I ask you two things, please?

First, if you are able to attend the meeting, please RSVP to my colleague Chng Huang Hoon, the current SAAL president, at ellchh at nus.edu.sg
  
Second, if you cannot attend but would like to be kept informed of the SIG's activities, please email me, ellmcf at nus.edu.sg  , so I'll add you to my mailing list.

Thank you!
I hope many of you will be able to make it to the meeting

Madalena

======================================
Madalena Cruz-Ferreira
Dept. English Language and Literature
National University of Singapore
ellmcf at nus.edu.sg
http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/ellmcf/ 
======================================


Celebrating SAAL's 20th Anniversary
Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics (SAAL)
est. 1985

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

The 1st SAAL Special Interest Group (SIG)

Child Language Research in Singapore: 
The State of the Art, 
&
Where Do We Go from Here?
3rd September 2005 (Saturday)
9.00am-11.30am

Panelists:

Dr Madalena Cruz-Ferreira (Main convenor, NUS)
Dr Christine C M Goh (Member, NIE)
Dr Ng Bee Chin (Member, NTU)
Dr Rita Elaine Silver (Member, NIE)

Abstract:

The purpose of this talk is threefold. First, to introduce the SAAL Special Interest Group (SIG) on Child Language, constituted by today's four speakers. This is also the first SAAL SIG. Its long-term goal is to act as a task-force to gather and spread information about child language research in Singapore and in the remaining South-East Asian region, including Australia and New Zealand. The SIG will also promote cooperation with international bodies dedicated to child language, such as the IASCL (International Association for the Study of Child Language) and CHILDES (Child Language Data Exchange System), and seek integration with them.

Second, to present an overview of current research in child language, starting with the core of research done in Singapore and/or concerning the languages used in Singapore. Two things are striking here, a) the amount and diversity of research topics, from descriptive studies on particular languages, to educational and pedagogical issues, through to atypical language development and remediation; and b) the apparently widespread ignorance, among child language researchers, of each other's work. 

Third, and most importantly, to glean interests and generalise discussion about child language among our audience. Our goals with this first SIG convening are to consolidate preliminary findings, gaps and pointers in child language research, raise awareness about the worldwide expanding interest in this topic, and launch concerted research efforts that may truly serve researchers in the SE Asian region.

IMPORTANT: Please signal your interest by emailing Dr Chng Huang Hoon (ellchh at nus.edu.sg) by 30 June 2005. Venue to be announced.


About the speakers:

Madalena Cruz-Ferreira teaches child language and introductory linguistics at the Department of English Language and Literature, National University of Singapore. Her main research interest is in child multilingualism, as a parent, educator and linguist, with particular focus on prosody and phonology. 

Christine Goh teaches courses in English language teaching methods, language acquisition and research methods at the National Institute of Education. Her main research interests are language acquisition, metacognition of language learners and speaking and listening competence.

Ng Bee Chin teaches in the Centre for Language and Communication, Nanyang Technological University. Her main research interest is in crosslinguistic aspects of first language acquisition with a focus on semantics in Chinese languages. She also works in the area of bilingualism and is interested in issues relating to language and gender.

Rita Elaine Silver teaches courses in English language teaching methods and language acquisition at the National Institute of Education. Her main research interest is in second language acquisition with a particular focus on linguistic interaction.



ALL ARE WELCOME!