“The QS World University Rankings is regarded as one of the three most influential and widely observed international university rankings, along with the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.”

See more at the Arts Faculty website: http://articulation.arts.unimelb.edu.au/?p=2874

University of Melbourne press release: http://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/researchnews/

Alexander von

Humboldt Foundation press release:  http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/newsletter-2-2013-7-en.html.

well as a discussion of regular expressions and the general workflow around using the tools (Nick Thieberger). Slides from the presentations are included below:

DataManagementOverview

ElanPresentation

Toolbox_Intro

Fieldworks Language Explorer (FLEx)

From: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-academics-urge-heed-indigenous-language.html#jCp

“Without a bilingual program, children are being taught in a language they are not familiar with. This means they often don’t understand what is going on, and then don’t engage,” she said. According to the Our Land Our Language report—tabled in Federal Parliament by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs—teaching children in their first language in preschool (before gradually increasing the amount of English used in the classroom) resulted in higher literacy rates by Year 7 in English and the first language. “We know from many studies both here and internationally, that teaching children using their first language is the best way for them to learn anything, including a second language,” Professor Wigglesworth said. “Children come to school with a lot of knowledge about language – their first language – and we need to build on this knowledge.”The report recommended several other measures to slow the loss of indigenous languages and improve educational outcomes for indigenous people in remote areas. These included constitutional recognition of indigenous languages, support for interpreter services

(especially in the health and justice sectors) and ways of ensuring that Australia’s linguistic heritage is protected into the future, by supporting regional language centres and archives. Professor Wigglesworth is optimistic the report will have an impact. “Hopefully now that this report has been tabled, various governments will see that the weight of evidence supports measures such as bilingual education, appropriate language and cultural training for teachers working in indigenous communities and recognition of the contribution that indigenous teachers can make, as well as alternatives to NAPLAN testing that doesn’t discriminate on the basis of a student’s language. “We have a real chance of improving the lives of the tens of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for whom a one-size-fits-all education system has not been successful.” “But for that to happen, we need the governments to get behind the committee’s findings and act immediately,” she said. More information: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=/atsia/languages2/report/full%20report.pdf

Melbourne for her thesis description: Learning to be Sherpa: Children, language and culture on the roof of the world, http://gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/3MT/ She has won a Travelling Scholarship to the value of $4,500, will compete in the 2012 Asia-Pacific competition taking place at the University of Queensland, and has a perpetual trophy – the McPhee Cup.

And, showing she is as good in the sprint as in the long-distance, Sara has also won one of the two-minute thesis prizes in the international competition run by PhD Comics: http://www.phdcomics.com/tv/2minute/winners.php

The Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC), a formally constituted university centre located within the School of Languages and Linguistics, is an international leader in research and development in language assessment and language program evaluation. The Centre plays a key role with regards to the research strategy of the School of Languages and Linguistics in terms of research income, project development, capability building in both research and research training,

and stakeholder engagement. Research and academic articulation between the Centre and the rest of the School is excellent, in particular with the Linguistics and Applied Linguistics program.

The LTRC is currently seeking a Director to lead the Unit. In this role you will be responsible for the management of the Centre within the organizational, policy and strategic framework established by the University and the Department. Your primary role will be to attract revenue for the Centre from both international and external sources, to develop and implement the Centre’s business strategy under the direction of the Head of School, to encourage the pursuit of excellence in research, to seek new opportunities for the enhancement of the international standing of the LTRC and the SOLL, to provide academic and administrative leadership within the Centre and to facilitate a collegial and productive working environment. You will also be expected to make a substantial contribution to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs in Applied Linguistics.

The Endangered Languages website is a project which hopes to stem the continued and rapid loss of language diversity around the world.

At the current rate of language loss, the last speaker of a language dies every

fortnight, and with them a unique view of the world is lost forever.

Correspondent: Annabel Boyer

Speakers: Dr Nick Thieberger, linguist and researcher at Melbourne University, Professor William Foley, Head of Linguistics at the University of Sydney

A panel of linguistic and legal experts discuss language and the law.

At the very best of times courts can be confusing but if you don’t understand spoken English it can be overwhelming whether you are a victim, suspect or  a witness . The rituals and the language used are not ones that most of us are familiar with and as one of our guests today’s put it “The monolithic immovable smug nature of the legal system,

which sits there expecting people to come to it on its terms “ doesn’t help.

So if English is not your first language can justice be denied?

The podcast of this discussion can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/language-and-the-law/3832062

Leanne Hinton, Professor emerita, University of California at Berkeley and Consulting member of the board of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, will be presenting a public lecture at the University of Melbourne on Wednesday 7 March. The talk will be co-hosted by the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity and the University of Melbourne School of Languages and Linguistics.

Leanne is the founder of the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program, and will talk about ways that the method has been used in North America to rebuild American Indian and Canadian First Nations speaker communities. Leanne will be in Australia to facilitate two intensive Master-Apprentice workshops which will train 36 Aboriginal and TSI people from 27 language groups to become trainers in the MALLP method. This talk will precede those workshops, and Leanne will expand on potential applications for the method in Australia.

6.00pm-7.30pm
Wednesday 7 March
North Lecture Theatre
Old Arts Building
Parkville

This is a free public lecture.