This ethnographic research probes into feedback on academic writing received by Taiwanese students in Australian higher education institutions, and examines whether the feedback received helped students to participate in the written discourse of academic communities. Academic writing dominates the academic life of students in Australia and is the…

This paper reviews the teaching of Aboriginal languages in the tertiary sector of Australia, looking at the stronger languages taught in the university sector versus those languages under revival that tend to be taught in the TAFE sector. The paper summarises the status of courses offered state by state, and sets the scene with some historical…

The internationalisation of education has become a major focus of international, national and institutional attention, reflected in a substantial and expanding literature on how internationalisation is manifested, how it might be promoted, its implications for areas such as government policy, strategic planning and management, educational quality,…

This paper draws on systemic functional linguistic genre analysis to illuminate the way in which post graduate applied linguistics students structure their argumentation within a multi party asynchronous computer mediated conference. Two conference discussions within the same postgraduate course are compared in order to reveal the way in which…

The concurrent trends of globalisation and "indigenisation" affecting the English language (varieties) around the world pose some interesting questions for language planning and reform issues (e.g. Phillipson, 1992; Pennycook, 1994; Crystal, 1997). With this project we examine the impact of these competing trends on "corpus planning" relating to…

The present study examines the relationship between learner participation and accuracy improvement in the use of some features of standard Italian, which were taught over a period of intensive grammatical instruction in a tertiary classroom setting. The subjects of the study are 60 tertiary learners of L2 Italian from a variety of Italian dialect…

Investigates three important issues in kanji learning strategies; namely, strategy use, effectiveness of strategy and orthographic background. A questionnaire on kanji learning strategy use and perceived effectiveness was administered to beginner level, undergraduate students of Japanese from alphabetic and character backgrounds in Australia.…

Analysis of a series of computer science seminars indicates that use of the discourse marker "so" in dialogic talk is not random, rather it plays an important role in orienting the listener to the overall structure of the seminar. Analysis shows how the discourse marker occurs in specific environments, with specific prosodic features, and that its…

Reports on a structured exchange program between Chinese and Australian students that focuses on discussion and reflections on everyday cultural practices and behaviors, the most relevant but least accessible aspect of culture for international students. (Author/VWL)

Investigates learner perceptions of the use of asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a means of extending the community of learning in tertiary Chinese language and non-language courses. Finds that there exist pedagogical benefits in employing CMC, but the benefits do not necessarily arise from community building. (VWL)

Describes computer-assisted group project activities, including the creation of a Web site and a poster, employed in a beginners' Japanese language course. Claims that the activities were positively received by students and suggests that three factors such as self-directed learning, group dynamics, and computer-related skills should be taken into…

Describes an off-campus distributed language course in Indonesian and discusses the use of computer mediated communication in on-campus and off-campus courses. Argues that off-campus delivery language programs need to seek the linking of learners to a community of learners with whom they share common goals and to the broader native speaker…

Outlines recent concerns regarding a perceived decline in literacy standards in Australia, with reference to changing literacy abilities and standards in tertiary education. Summarizes and critiques current discussions on changes in literacy expectations and contemporary notions of literacy. Concludes with discussion of three important agents of…

Identifies problems of academic literacy in Australia and proposes a coordinated institutional approach to their solution. (Author/VWL)

Explores consequences of the social literacies model of understanding students' academic literacy practices at a South African University. Highlights paradoxes of this model in South Africa in terms of the particular demands of dominant literacy practices and past discriminatory policies that denied access to such practices and created alternative…