Keynotes & Invited Talks

Divided by Language: Exploring Chinese-ness in Anglophone Singapore Literature

By A/P Angelia Poon

A/P Angelia Poon was 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. A/P Poon showed 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.

Wither language teaching? Rebalancing what matters in ELT in the age of AI

By A/P Csilla Weninger

Are your students engaged?

By Dr Willy Renandya

Infusing Ethical Literacy in CCE to Develop Global Citizenship Dispositions

By A/P Suzanne Choo

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.

Watery Depths: Articulating the Southeast Asian Pre-modern in Ponti

By Asst/P Ann Ang Su Lee

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.  

Developing Educators: Strengthening Foundations & Supporting Teachers

By Dr Alexius Chia

This keynote address was delivered 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.

From Reading the Word to Reading the World: How We Can Develop Critical, Ethical, Global Thinkers through Literature

By A/P Suzanne Choo

A/P Suzanne Choo delivered a 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.

Multimodality and learning: Desiderata for future research

By A/P Victor Lim Fei

This keynote presentation was delivered 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, 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.

Teaching from the Heart: An Evaluation of Award-winning EL Teachers

By Dr Loh Kok Khiang Jason

This keynote presentation was delivered at the 32nd ETA-ROC International Symposium on English Teaching held in Yaipei, Taiwan, on 11 November 2023. In this keynote on “Teaching from the Heart: An Evaluation of Award-winning EL Teachers”, Dr Jason Loh shared the findings from his study on award-winning teachers in Singapore. 

Feedback in L2 writing: Lessons from the past, visions for the future

By Prof Icy Lee

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.

The Potential of Multimodal Texts: Harnessing Possibilities for English Language Teaching

By Dr Alexius Chia

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.

Locating Anglophone Singapore Literature in the New Millennium

By A/P Angelia Poon

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.

Towards an Applied Multimodality for Social Change: Designing Futures

By A/P Victor Lim Fei

This keynote presentation was delivered at the 11th International Conference on Multimodality 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.

Postcolonialism and Decoloniality: Overlaps and Differences

By A/P Angelia Poon

This keynote presentation was delivered 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 Angelia Poon delved into the implications of reading anglophone Singapore literature through a decolonial lens.

Teaching grammar as meaning-making in the writing class: an inclusive approach to the teaching of grammar

By Dr Christine Xavier

This keynote presentation was delivered at the 6th International English Language Teachers and Lecturers Conference 2023 (iNELTAL 2023) held on 4-5 August 2023. In this presentation, Dr Xavier shared on 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.

Teacher feedback competencies in L2 writing

By Prof Icy Lee

This keynote presentation was delivered at 2023 Global English Education China Assembly 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. 

Inspiring Innovation with Technology: Connect, Collaborate and Co-Create with Generative Artificial Intelligence

By A/P Victor Lim Fei

The possibilities and perils of ChatGPT et al.  for learning

By A/P Victor Lim Fei

This keynote presentation was delivered 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”, A/P 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. 

Creating the digital classroom: Step by step

By Dr Loh Kok Khiang Jason

This keynote presentation was delivered 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 Jason Loh shared ideas and applications of the educational technology in the language classroom.

Playing to learn

By A/P Victor Lim Fei

This keynote presentation was delivered 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.