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Sun, He
- PublicationRestrictedSyntactic resonance in child-caretaker interaction and children’s peer talk(Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Singapore, 2024)
; Green, ClarenceLanguage acquisition takes place as children are engaged in social interaction (Kuhl, 2004; Langacker, 2009) and through different perspectives including Language Socialization (Watson-Gegeo & Nielsen, 2003), longitudinal Conversation Analysis (Hauser, 2013), and Usage-Based Linguistics (Ellis et al, 2015; Clark, 2015). Although each draws on slightly different disciplinary backgrounds (language socialization (Anthropology), longitudinal Conversation Analysis (Applied Linguistics), and Usage-Based Linguistics (Linguistics and Psychology)), they share one thrust that language learning takes place in social interaction as the learners participate in culturally constituted joint activities.
Examination of children’s interaction data is argued to reveal that among other things, a remarkable degree of resonance across the child utterance and parent utterance. Relating the degree of syntactic resonance in each child’s interaction and their language proficiency would make not only a theoretically intriguing question, but also have potentially useful pedagogical implications, such in potential guidance as to how to use language to facilitate language learning, e.g., types of repetition. Indeed, previous research reports that children with autism demonstrate atypicalities in sequences identified as dialogic resonance in their interaction with adults (Hobson, Hobson, Garcia-Pérez, & Du Bois, 2012). This emerging research suggests that resonance/syntactic repetition may be a previously overlooked index of a child’s language development.
One component of resonance is claimed to be abstract structural priming. This is a type of discourse alignment prominent in experimental psychology. It is the repetition of an interlocutor’s syntax. Demonstrations of structural priming in the laboratory have led to claims of its importance to natural language learning, and some have interpreted it as evidence for formal linguistic theories of autonomous syntax. In this project, we aim to explore what was the extent of abstract structural priming in child language interactions with adults (represented by corpora collected by the researchers and drawn from CHILDES).
26 50 - PublicationOpen Access
291 141 - PublicationMetadata onlyNetwork science approaches to education research(International Journal of Complexity in Education, 2020)
; ; ; Tan, Jennifer Pei-LingIn the United States, the Interstate Teacher Assessment Consortium (InTASC) Standards and Education can be generally defined as a process of receiving and providing systematic instruction, and it embodies the verbal and nonverbal networks that the stakeholders (e.g., teachers and students) co-construct. Recent years witness an increasing interest in employing network science approaches to explore the interconnected and non-linear developmental process of education. The current review starts with a brief discussion on the nature of the educational data and proceeds with an introduction to network science history. Relevant network analysis approaches and terminologies are synthesized. Three case studies in Singapore are used to demonstrate how network science approaches can be employed to conceptualize daily educational issues. The findings of the three studies with network science approaches (e.g., motifs detection) may offer educators, researchers, and policymakers novel insights into better pedagogy and strategies for learning face-to-face or online.43 - PublicationOpen AccessAnimated electronic storybook and children's Mother Tongue development: Tracing the process and the outcome with eye-trackingStorybook reading to children is considered an efficient way to provide a meaningful context for exposure to unfamiliar words and grammar (Weizman & Snow, 2001). Nonetheless, children with limited language knowledge (e.g., child MTL learners in Singapore) may benefit less from the reading activities, due to the gap between their skills and those required for processing the narration. They often fail to derive the meaning of unknown words/grammar from the verbal context and consequently have trouble figuring out the story plots (Verhallen & Bus, 2010). Children’s electronic storybook (e-storybook) seems to hold great promise to assist in developing children’s emerging literacy as such reading formats are favored by children due to its entertaining elements (e.g., sound and interactive games) (Hio, 2015).
Compared to traditional print books, well-designed animated e-storybooks can stimulate readers' visual, auditory and even kinaesthetic senses to comprehend a story and unfamiliar language via the match between nonverbal sources (motion pictures, images, sound and music) and the narration (de Jong & Bus, 2002; 2004; Neuman, 1997; Verhallen, Bus, & de Jong, 2006). It is especially promising for second language learners/bilingual child learners, because these children with less language knowledge at hand may need extra information sources to digest the story plots and grasp the new words and grammar.307 289 - PublicationOpen AccessLocal evidence synthesis on language learning and bilingualism(National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NIE NTU), Singapore, 2021)
; ; ; 425 609 - PublicationMetadata onlyEffects of a machine learning-empowered Chinese character handwriting learning tool on rectifying legible writing in young children: A pilot study(2023)
; ; ; 50 - PublicationOpen AccessAI-Strokes (爱写乐): An AI-powered Chinese handwriting teaching aid with instant diagnostic and predictive capabilities to address cognitive and motor-related learning difficulties via game-based engagements(National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NIE NTU), Singapore, 2024)
; ; ; 41 177 - PublicationOpen AccessMismatches between teacher beliefs, practices and reasons for English use in preschool Malay language classroomsExisting studies are inconclusive about if and how children’s stronger language can support target language instruction. This study analyzed 29 Malay language teachers’ switching practices, reasons for switching, and perceptions of their Malay-English bilingual children’s language preferences and needs, in Singaporean preschool classrooms. 5 teachers’ and 68 children’s actual language practices were video-recorded, transcribed and coded for frequency and reasons for codeswitching. The Computerized Language Analysis (CLAN) software calculated these occurrences, and the combos function was used to examine the impact of teachers’ language on children’s classroom language output. The results revealed mismatches between teachers’ reported and observed language perceptions and practices. Language separation ideology is prevalent in Singapore, yet only one teacher claimed to never use English. All teachers were observed to switch to English at varied frequencies. While most Malay language teachers reported that their English use was because of instructional purposes, they were observed codeswitching mainly due to habitual reasons. These findings reflect the need to address gaps between perceptions and practices in preschool language instruction, and to consider further steps in preparing teachers to address the reality of language needs and practices in their classrooms.
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