Dr Anitha Devi Pillai was invited to speak at the AILA-ASEAN Panel (Nov 14-15)

Dr Anitha Devi Pillai was invited to speak at the AILA-ASEAN Panel during the 2^nd International Conference of the Thai Association for Applied Linguistics, held on 14–15 November 2025 in Bangkok. The panel, titled “Researching Applied Linguistics in ASEAN: Methods, Challenges, and Contexts,” brought together distinguished scholars from across Southeast Asia.

 

Dr Pillai presented her paper, “Charting Continuities and Change: Ethnographic Journeys into Minority Language Communities,” which draws on more than two decades of longitudinal ethnographic work with the Malayalee community in Singapore. Her presentation highlighted how sustained, community-embedded fieldwork offers deep insights into language maintenance, identity formation, and cultural continuity within post-migration minority contexts. She highlighted how applied linguistics research can meaningfully support communities and generate real-world impact across ASEAN.