ELL faculty and students present at ARLE SIG-ROLE 2025 Seminar in Nijmegen, the Netherlands
A delegation from NIE's English Language and Literature Department participated in the ARLE SIG-ROLE 2025 Seminar held at Radboud University, Nijmegen in the Netherlands, from 25-27 June 2025. ELL faculty member Dr Dennis Yeo and PhD candidates Dominic Nah, Ow Yeong Wai Kit, and Farah Vierra presented their research and contributed to discussions centred on the theme of “Legitimising Literature in an Evolving Media Landscape”.
This international conference addressed crucial contemporary challenges in literature education, including declining reading proficiency and motivation among young readers, alongside the emergence of new digital reading communities. These developments present both challenges and opportunities for literature educators across educational levels, from primary schools to higher education institutions.
Participants explored various approaches to revitalising literature education, examining how literary texts can foster civic consciousness, critical thinking, and ethical awareness in students. Discussions highlighted the enduring value of literature in developing empathy, cultural understanding, and moral reasoning—skills that remain essential in our increasingly digital world. While the challenges to literature education are not new—given how literature educators have long grappled with questions of relevance and engagement—the current media landscape presents unique opportunities to reimagine how we approach literary texts and reading practices for new generations of students.
The seminar, organised by the Special Interest Group of Research on Literature Education (SIG-ROLE) within the International Association for Research in L1 Education (ARLE), brought together scholars and practitioners from diverse nations to explore how literature education can be justified and enhanced in an era where traditional literary reading faces increasing pressures while simultaneously flourishing in new media contexts.
