Silver, Rita

"The project investigated the effectiveness of in-service as an intervention in teacher development. Specifically it examined whether in-service workshops could change classroom pedagogy for use of peer work in English language teaching and teacher thinking regarding the use of peer work for language learning." -- p. 1.

"English language use and opportunities for language learning by Singaporean children in P1 and P3 were investigated in this study. The focus was on children's language use while engaged in pair and group work in English language classes. Comparisons were made with language use during peer work in content area classes (e.g. Maths, PE). Specifically, the objectives for this project were to: describe the use of pair/group work in EL and content area courses at P1 and P3, determine when peer work was used in lessons (within the sequence of activities), how it was used (type of activities), and why (purposes); examine the type of language used in peer work and how this could lead to or subtract from language learning opportunities; develop recommendations for improving use of peer work in order to foster language learning, develop the pragmatic/social skills needed for effective collaboration, and build a foundation for interdisciplinary project work in upper primary."-- [p. 1].

Previous studies have opened up possibilities that linguistic landscape can support classroom learning. The aim of this research paper is to get a glimpse of Singapore teachers’ perspectives of how Linguistic Landscape can play a part in students’ language learning process. The findings of this paper revealed that teachers do see the potential of signboards being educative because of their authenticity nature, but the process of utilising them as a supplementary resource has to be carefully executed by trained teachers in order to fulfil educational goals.

The study follows up on prior research on the key role of negotiation for meaning (NFM) in increasing second language learning and oral comprehension (e.g., Ellis & Heimbach, 1997) and on reading comprehension (Van den Branden, 2000). The investigation described in this report considers whether and in what ways classroom discussions can encourage the types of interactions that are beneficial to language and literacy learning, especially reading comprehension. The intervention encourages a more thoughtful, questioning approach to reading comprehension, integrated with oral interaction that encourages NFM.

This presentation will focus on the adaptations made to the Singapore Coding Scheme for a study on peer learning in primary classrooms. I will discuss both the process of adaptation as well as the (almost) final product, including brief overviews of other coding schemes considered for this classroom study ('Peer work, peer talk and language learning in Singapore primary classrooms'). Critical comments on the adapted coding scheme including it's feasibility, utility for addressing the research questions, and methodological / theoretical integrity (especially in relation to the segments adapted from CORE) would be appreciated.

"This one-year project was an investigation into the ongoing implementation of recent policy initiatives that influence pedagogies, curriculum innovation, and instructional practices in primary education in Singapore. Investigation covered P1 and P2 in all core subjects: English, Mother Tongue (Chinese, Malay, Tamil) and mathematics. It included investigation of local contextual conditions which impact the work of policy developers and implementers at all levels within the system: class, school, zone, national. Our goal was to assist in developing a more complete understanding of the specific, local challenges of policy implementation." -- p. 2.

"This study examines the extent to which negotiation for meaning (NFM) enhances primary school students' English reading comprehension in the Singapore context." -- p. 7.