Keynotes & Invited Talks

A/P Suzanne Choo delivered a keynote presentation at the Association for Research in L1 Education (ARLE) and International Federation for the Teaching of English (IFTE) conference. A/P Choo's keynote address discussed the importance of interpretive justice given that questions about fairness, equity, and other notions of justice arise first from interpretations of communities and sociopolitical contexts. The presentation was developed from a recent paper “Hermeneutical justice as the foundation of cosmopolitan literacy in a post-truth age” that she published earlier this year in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.

A/P Rita Elaine Silver was invited to deliver an online lecture on 16 May 2024 to China Center for Language Planning and Policy Studies, Shanghai International Studies University on the topic of ‘More than methodology: Considering research data management’. In this talk, she discussed some of the issue around research data management with reference to different research paradigms, data types, and potential future re-use of data. Practical tips were offered for managing the data from initial data collection through project closure in order to support future research endeavours and open science initiatives.

A/P Angelia Poon has been invited to deliver a talk titled "Divided by Language: Exploring Chinese-ness in Anglophone Singapore Literature" at the National Taiwan Normal University on 13 May 2024. Singapore is distinctive for being a country with a Chinese-majority population that does not have Mandarin or another Chinese language as its official first language. One important intra-Chinese difference in the nation with notable implications for cultural politics has thus been language use. Analyzing novels such as Suchen Christine Lim’s The River’s Song (2014), Jeremy Tiang’s State of Emergency (2017) and Claire Tham’s The Inlet (2013), A/P Poon shows in this presentation how the cleavage between English-speaking and Chinese-speaking Chinese Singaporeans discloses persistent tensions about national history, class privilege, social mobility, and multiracial identity.

A/P Suzanne Choo was invited to deliver a talk titled "Infusing Ethical Literacy in CCE to Develop Global Citizenship Dispositions" at the Research-Practice Connection (RPC) 2024. The event, held on 7 March 2024, was organized by the OER School Partnership Unit and the East Zone Teacher Learning and Professional Development Committee. RPC fosters a collaborative environment where researchers and practitioners can exchange ideas and enrich their practices.

Asst/P Ann Ang was invited to deliver a talk titled "Watery Depths: Articulating the Southeast Asian Pre-modern in Ponti" at Universiti Brunei Darussalam's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) seminar held on 5 March 2024. In this presentation, she discussed the sociocultural framing of water as biophysical capital and as part of the ecological landscape in one of South East Asia’s smallest nations, Singapore, and the re-imagining of these perspectives in a recent anglophone novel.  

Dr Alexius Chia delivered this keynote address at the discussion Forum on Improving the Quality of Basic Education (FOKUS) held on 5 December 2023. The keynote address focused on the pivotal role of quality teachers in fostering a strong education system. It highlighted strategies to empower educators through NIE's initial teacher preparation programmes and Singapore's teacher support systems. Learning support programmes in schools for literacy and numeracy were also discussed.

A/P Suzanne Choo delivered this keynote presentation at the International School Chinese Language Education (ISCLE) Conference held at Yew Chung International School and University of Hong Kong in December 2023. In this presentation, A/P Choo  compared two main traditions of ethical criticism. The first is American ethical criticism emphasizing critical analysis of ideologies in texts and the second is Chinese ethical criticism emphasizing sociohistorical engagements with ethical concerns in texts.

A/P Victor Lim delivered this keynote presentation at the 5th International Webinar on Multimodal Discourse Analysis, organized by the GRAPE (Group for Research on Academic and Professional English), Universitat Jaume I, Spain on 17 November 2023. In this keynote presentation, A/P Lim mapped the research terrain of multimodality and learning across curriculum, pedagogies and assessment practices. With each aspect, he outlined the desiderata, that is things desired, as future research directions.

Prof Icy Lee delivered a keynote presentation entitled "Feedback in L2 writing: Lessons from the past, visions for the future" at the research symposium at the 51st Annual TESL Ontario Conference held online on 8 November 2023. In this presentation, Prof Lee took stock of what has been learnt from extant research on feedback in L2 writing, which significantly contributes to our understanding of L2 writing teacher feedback literacy.

Dr Alexius Chia delivered this presentation at an invited webinar organized by Primary English Language Teachers of Indonesia (PELTIN) in November 2023. This presentation explored the untapped potential of multimodal texts use in English Language lessons. The session, attended by about 100 participants, had a mix of interactive elements such as sharing, hands-on activities, a dynamic Q&A, breakout room discussions and participant showcases.

A/P Angelia Poon gave an invited talk at City University of Hong Kong on 30 October 2023 entitled “Locating Anglophone Singapore Literature in the New Millennium.” She provided the historical context for Singapore’s transformation into a global city for the new millennium and explored key literary developments in relation to that.

A/P Victor Lim delivered this keynote at the 11th International Conference on Multimodality, organised by the Institute of Education, University College London, United Kingdom on 28 September 2023. In this presentation, A/P Lim examined the value of multimodality in inspiring changes in the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment practices, with examples from my research projects on multimodal literacy and digital learning in Singapore. They include developing ways to nurture students’ multimodal literacy, understanding how students’ learning experiences can be designed with a greater semiotic awareness in embodied teaching, and valuing the students’ lifeworld practices in schools. He concluded with a reflection on the signs of maturation in the multimodality community and consider how we can contribute in concert towards an applied multimodality to design social futures.

A/P Angelia Poon delivered this keynote presentation as part of the seminar series ‘Glocal’ Agenda in the Arts Management Research: Interrogating, Redefining and Challenging Traditional Research Canons at LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore, on 15 September 2023. In this presentation, A/P Poon delved into the implications of reading anglophone Singapore literature through a decolonial lens.

Dr Christine Xavier delivered this keynote presentation at the 6th International English Language Teachers and Lecturers Conference 2023 (iNELTAL 2023) held on 4-5 August 2023. The talk raised the awareness of the distinction between viewing grammar as structure versus grammar as choice and illustrate how teachers can teach grammar as a meaning-making resource in the writing class such that the teaching approach adopted is mindful of the diverse needs of students in the EL classroom.

Prof Icy Lee delivered this keynote presentation at the 2023 Global English Education China Assembly which was held from 27 to 30 July 2023. It is an annual international event aimed to promote scholarship and cross-cultural understanding among English educators in China, and to foster dialogue between China’s ELT professionals and global academics.  Keynote presenters include David Block, Stephen Krashen, Icy Lee, David Nunan, and Lawrence Zhang. 

A/P Victor Lim delivered this keynote presentation at the National Project Work Seminar 2023, English Language and Literature Branch, Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore on 26 July 2023. In this presentation, A/P Lim discussed the possibilities and perils in the use of generative AI for Project Work and illustrate the scenarios in which generative AI can be used to help students connect learning to real-world issues, imagine and generate possibilities, collaborate with others, as well as receive timely and quality feedback in the co-creation process.

A/P Victor Lim delivered this keynote presentation at the RGS PeRL Symposium held at Raffles Girls School, Centre for Pedagogical Research and Learning (PeRL) on 30 June 2023. In this keynote on “The Possibilities and Challenges of ChatGPT  in Education”, Dr Lim discussed the reasons why generative AI tools can be harmful for learning, and how they can be made useful for learning. He also provided examples of ways in which ChatGPT has been used well for teaching and learning. 

Dr Jason Loh delivered this keynote presentation at the 1st SOLERAMS (Sport, Language, Educational Technology, Multilingual, and Science) International Conference held in Riau, Indonesia, on 12 June 2023. In this keynote on “Creating the digital classroom: Step by step”, Dr Loh shared ideas and applications of the educational technology in the language classroom.

A/P Victor Lim delivered this keynote presentation at the Asian Festival of Children Content organized by Singapore Book Council on 25 May 2023. In this keynote on ‘Playing to Learn’, A/P Lim highlighted the findings and the work from his research projects, to show how learning can happen through digital play. He also discussed the importance of digital co-play between caregivers and their child as well as how education researchers can support them in this.