Past Seminars

This presentation explores the fine-grained processes of adult-child language interactions by leveraging advanced machine learning and natural language processing algorithms. Previous research has largely focused on the frequency of children’s exposure to language features, such as lexical diversity and syntactic complexity, using audio and video samples to predict language development. However, these approaches often overlook the complex semantic relationships and the influence of contextual and individual variability. By employing techniques such as semantic network analysis, probabilistic topic modeling, and sentiment analysis, this study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of these interactions. The findings indicate that AI-driven methods can significantly enhance our comprehension of children’s language learning environments. They support the development of targeted interventions that adapt strategies to specific activity contexts and individual child characteristics, ultimately advocating for the effective fostering of high-quality language input to meet the diverse needs of young learners.

Talk 1 (by Prof. Kevin Tai):
Transpositioning in Multilingual Classroom Interaction: Insights from a translanguaging perspective

Abstract: The concept of “transpositioning” is a newly emerging idea in the realm of Applied Linguistics, influenced by positioning theory and the concept of liquid modernity. Transpositioning entails individuals moving away from their predetermined roles and adopting different viewpoints through translanguaging. This presentation aims to demonstrate how an English-Medium-Instruction instructor engages in transpositioning by assuming varied positions to create a hypothetical scenario and participating in collaborative learning with students. I will also explain how researchers can combine Multimodal Conversation Analysis with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse the complexity of translanguaging practices. I argue that posits that transpositioning forms a crucial component of the teacher’s classroom translanguaging competence. This competence not only involves the strategic use of multilingual and multimodal resources to foster new knowledge and achieve specific educational objectives, but also demands that teachers selectively draw from their skill set and adjusts their identity positions to adapt to the changing dynamics of classroom interactions.

Talk 2 (by Prof. Danping Wang):
Decolonising Foreign Language Curriculum: Experiences from New Zealand

Abstract: This talk explores the potential of applying critical theories to advance decolonising approaches in foreign language education, promoting inclusivity and equity in knowledge production. My focus is on New Zealand, a settler colonial nation where Indigenous people have faced longstanding racial and educational discrimination. Over the past decades, the New Zealand government has implemented reforms across all levels of education to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the mainstream system. After providing an overview of early childhood education and schools, I will turn to a university-level curriculum transformation project aimed at incorporating Indigenous epistemologies across all academic disciplines. My research focuses on how non-Indigenous teachers and students engage with efforts to embed Indigenous concepts and language into foreign language teaching and assessment as part of a broader effort to decolonise the foreign language curriculum. By employing translanguaging as a decolonial strategy, I examine the fluidity between languages and epistemological frameworks. This approach demonstrates how translanguaging and transknowledging enable the coexistence of multiple knowledge systems, offering a holistic view of students’ diverse epistemic positions and life experiences. In closing, I will highlight the need for continued efforts to support educators and learners in challenging colonial models of language education and assessment.

What stays the same when everything changes? Technological developments, in particular in AI, present us with challenging and urgent questions. However, these are often prompted by the technology, rather than by us. As a result, we may end up looking for answers to questions that are not relevant to us. In this presentation I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: with us teachers and our learners.
For this, I introduce the concept of Positive CALL (Reinders, forthcoming), or a values-based-approach to the use of technology that aims to enhance learner and teacher wellbeing and thriving. This is a humanistic perspective that places personal growth at the heart of our conversations about technology and that fosters educational sustainability.
At a practical level, I present ways in which teachers can (help their learners to) take a more constructive and agentic approach to technology. I give examples of ways in which technology has served the educational needs and goals of communities, not the other way around. I show everyday strategies that can help us develop digital wellbeing and demonstrate how teachers can exert leadership to maintain control over their professional identity and aspirations. The aim of the presentation is to imagine new, human-centred opportunities for the role of technology in education.

The sudden appearance of Generative AI has precipitated a panic among some educators while prompting qualified enthusiasm from others. Under this umbrella term are a range of technologies for the creation and of computer-generated text, image, and other digitized media. This presentation reports on an application of Generative AI in the CGScholar platform, a community knowledge sharing and e-learning platform developed by researchers in the College of Education at the University of Illinois and Common Ground Research Networks. The presentation explores the intrinsic limits of Generative AI, bound as it is to language corpora and their textual representation through binary notation. Within these limits, we suggest the range of emerging and potential applications of Generative AI in education.

The dynamic nature of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine translation and generative AI is transforming language teaching into a field where traditional teaching methods intersect with rapidly evolving digital tools. These shifts bring to the forefront the need to identify how learners can make the most of these tools maintaining sound ethical and pedagogical practices. Based on data collected from a study of EFL learners in Japan, this presentation explores how learners engage with these technologies and how teachers can guide their learners to sound practices, The presentation explores the roles that the teacher needs to play in leading learners to use technologies in a self-regulated manner, and argues for the importance of emphasising the roles of instructor guidance and peer collaboration. An underlying need made clear is the need for open dialogue between teachers and learners and the need to provide clear guidelines to help support learners in using the tools.