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LEA Newsletter Feb 2024

The LEA Newsletter Feb 2024 updates on the happenings of the website and featured content for this month.

LEA Newsletter Feb 2024

Making life’s lemonade, testing a new tool and Studies on Language Acquisition

Greetings on the LEA Newsletter Feb 2024!

Dear LEA followers,

Before I wrote this today, I would not have imagined how much of a difference 2 to 3 days might make. As the shortest month of the year, February is usually a reminder that things have to go a bit faster so that I can send out the newsletter on time. How has it been for you? Did you also have to do something in a shorter frame of time?

Reflecting on what I wrote in the Jan newsletter, I was genuinely enthusiastic about an invigorating February, after securing a couple of new website tools. Furthermore, the Lunisolar New Year that took place in February was a festive occasion my family highly anticipated. But alas, I tested positive for COVID-19 just one day before the New Year’s Eve – the day of reunion!

In the end, it was a 7-day new year in solidarity. To be frank, I was quite dejected, having also received notification of an extended delay (and possible rejection) of a research proposal that I have looked forward to, with reasons cited as bureaucratic restrictions that make it difficult for cross-faculty collaboration. Well, the adage about life throwing lemons can be true, and I was challenged to make my lemonade then.

Guess what? I did, albeit still fed with disappointment over the fewer gatherings that I could have with my relatives. Thankfully, the Lunisolar New Year for the Chinese is a 15-day occasion, ending only on the 15th received by the first full moon of the new year. I did enjoy my long-awaited gathering with the closest relatives and dear family members.

Thank you for allowing me to indulge in my personal matters. The ordeal over the last few weeks did slow down production at LEA, and I guess this is the first time since the start of the website that I could not deliver what I have promised in the last newsletter.

That being said, I did test out some of the new tools that I have amassed for LEA in solidarity, one of which shall be displayed here as a snippet of what might come:

Education Week

Ileana Najarro

Nuanced Accountability Would Help English Learners. New Research Shows How

A new report offers suggestions on how states can approach federal accountability measures with more nuance for English learners.

Purdue University

Purdue News Service

Purdue University begins work to advance science of reading thanks to $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Purdue University has begun work to improve the reading abilities of K-12 students in Indiana by strengthening teacher preparation using science-based methods.

Nature

Xiaolei Ruan, Yubin Zhu & Auli Toom

‘Making it possible’: the complex dynamics of university foreign language teacher agency for research in funding applications

This study examines how foreign language teachers at a university in China practice agency in the application of the National Social Science Fund of China from a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory perspective.

With this tool, I hope to bring all of us – exclusively for all of us who have subscribed to the newsletter – highlights of language education news around the world for a given month. We can all look forward to such information in our next newsletter within a section below. But remember, this will only be received by newsletter subscribers, so do SUBSCRIBE now if you do not want to miss any important news on language education.

For this month, I still managed to work on one of the planned topics on LANGAUGE ACQUISITION. I can see, from the website analytics, that many of us who frequent LEA cares more about this body of knowledge. Indeed, studies in LANGUAGE ACQUISITION produce insights that are key in shaping our approach to language education and I do hope that many of us will continue strengthening our personal understanding of the science of language development in different age groups across various contexts.

My current article is targeted at beginners, especially the group of us – parents, beginning teachers, young policymakers, etc – who may not have many opportunities to engage with research on LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. I provided a simple introduction to the various sub-fields: First Language Acquisition, Second Language Acquisition, Third Language Acquisition and Bilingual Language Acquisition; and also summarised some of the key insights from each. I would definitely continue to update this article and follow up with some of the interesting questions that I have raised.

March is at the doorstep. Despite the lemonade I have to drink in Feb, I still look forward to a hopeful and invigorating March. And hopefully by then, I might have other good news for all of us too! Till then.

Making a difference with you,
Chin Yew KIEU
Founder, Language Educators Assemble

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Don’t Miss Our Featured Content for Jan 2024

Language Acquisition
STUDY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide (4 Major Sub-fields)

Study of LANGUAGE ACQUISITION made easy: our beginner’s guide explores the 4 key sub-fields. Start learning today!


Stay Tuned for What’s To Come!

  • Interesting facts about the Malay Language (yes I owe that)
  • Why Naturalistic Input should be featured in our classrooms
  • Updates to resources page
  • EXCLUSIVELY for Newsletter Subscribers: top 10 featured language education news from around the world (including academic articles!)

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