Clash of political discourses

This research program examines the extent to which conflict

Further Information
Language and
between different nations is the results of misrepresentation
of political discourse.
LASC website
www.arts.monash.edu.au/language-and-society Society Centre
Cultural conceptualizations of Ageing
An international and national program of research to explore
Director
Associate Professor Farzad Sharifian
(LASC)
concepts such as “successful” ageing in different languages Farzad.Sharifian@arts.monash.edu.au
and cultures.
Deputy Director
Dr Simon Musgrave
English as an International Language
Simon.Musgrave@arts.monash.edu.au
This research program focuses on a paradigm shift in the field
English Language Teaching and sociolinguistics of English in Foundation Director
the light of the globalisation and internationalisation the English Emeritus Professor Michael Clyne
language. Michael.Clyne@arts.monash.edu.au

Intercultural oral examinations in medicine: Executive Committee

Understanding the communicative skills of international Associate Professor Farzad Sharifian
medical graduates (IMGs) in Australian objective structured Farzad.Sharifian@arts.monash.edu.au
clinical examinations (OSCEs) Professor Kate Burridge
This study analyses the communication skills of IMGs in selected Kate.Burridge@arts.monash.edu.au
communicative OSCE scenarios designed to replicate Australian
Dr Simon Musgrave
Medical Council (AMC) examination standards. Video-recordings
Simon.Musgrave@arts.monash.edu.au
of OSCE performances and stimulated recall interviews
constitute the corpus of this study. Following a Discourse Associate Professor Helen Marriott
Analysis approach, the data is analysed on both dimensions Helen.Marriott@arts.monash.edu.au
of intra-professional and practitioner-client interactions to Dr Julie Bradshaw
investigate the discourse difficulties experienced by IMGs. Julie.Bradshaw@arts.monash.edu.au
Dr Marisa Cordella
Marisa.Cordella@arts.monash.edu.au

Executive Officer
Ms Anna Sztendur
Anna.Sztendur@arts.monash.edu.au

09P-267

CRICOS provider: Monash University 00008C www.arts.monash.edu/language-and-society

LanguageSocietyCentre(LASC)-DL.indd 1 3/12/2009 2:40 PM

 Language and Society Centre (LASC)
The Language and Society Centre was
established at Monash University in 1989 as
part of the National Languages and Literacy
Institute of Australia, an Australian Research
Council (ARC) and Commonwealth Government
funded collaborative key centre. Today it is
a Centre within Monash University’s School
of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics.
The colleagues participating in the Centre are members of several
programs in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics:
Linguistics, English as an International Language, Chinese Studies,
German Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean
Studies and Spanish and Latin American Studies. The Centre
collaborates with the Faculty of Education and other sections
of the University, including the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and
Health Sciences through the MonRAS (Monash Research for an
Ageing Society) network.
Research in the Centre
The main focus of the centre is linguistic research with social
applications. Initially, the centre focussed on researching
aspects of multilingualism, sociolinguistic aspects of second
language acquisition and bilingual education, and inter-cultural
communication, and later incorporated the study of Australian
English and indigenous languages. Today, primary areas of
research include:
• Intercultural communication
• Multilingualism in Australia
• Australian English
• Aboriginal English
• Language and politics
• Language and culture
• Language and aging
• Language contact and implications for multilingualism
• Language shift and implications for bilingualism
LanguageSocietyCentre(LASC)-DL.indd 2
• Language policy
• Sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition
• Bilingual education in schools
• Bilingual language acquisition
• English as an International Language
• Discourse analysis
• Pragmatics
The centre is also active in community-based research, working
with schools, school systems, and industry. This research has
been funded by the ARC, government, and other grants.
The centre has had many visiting academics, published widely, and
held numerous seminars and workshops. Current activities of the
centre include an annual roundtable, seminars, and public talks.
Current research areas in the Centre
Multilingualism in Australia
This includes large-scale census based and small-scale
community and institution based studies (comparing language
practices and maintenance/shift rates across and between
languages), as well as comparative studies of community
languages as used in Australia including grammatical change
and switching patterns). One new project (in collaboration with
the University of Melbourne) examines endangered Sudanese
languages in Melbourne.
Connecting young second language learners and elderly
bilinguals (German, Mandarin, Spanish) ­interconnectedness
and social inclusion
This project, conducted in collaboration with MonRAS, focuses
on the use of community language resources in second language
acquisition. It brings together Monash students of German,
Mandarin and Spanish with older speakers of these languages.
Specifically, it explores students’ gains in second language
acquisition, including conversational management skills and
confidence and attitudes, as well as the impact on older people’s
self-esteem, sense of belonging, and understanding of younger
people. It is hoped to extend this project to the upper secondary
level.
Communicating in English in our multicultural and
globalised contexts
This project focuses on communicative styles in English as
an International Language, cultural variation in academic and
professional discourse, as well as intercultural communication in
the medical field, in the workplace, in business communication
and in meetings.
Enhancing languages-in-education policies and improved
practice in primary, secondary and tertiary programs
This research examines how cognitive benefits can best be
achieved in practice. It includes studies of ethnic schools,
language learning and online communication, students of different
backgrounds, opportunities for second language learning and
use in social and transactional networks, acquisition of academic
English by international students, the language socialisation of the
second generation in the Australian academic context.
Dimensions of Australian English
This project explores variation and change in Australian English
pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and communicative styles.
It examines school, gender, generation, and ethnicity as factors.
The data is based on Year 10 students (across ten Melbourne
schools), their families and friends, as well as rural Australian
English from a pilot sample of the Western District. Research
includes (im)politeness in language, attitudes to language, the
discourse of inclusion/exclusion and of sexuality.
Indigenous languages of Victoria – revival and reclamation
This is an ongoing linguistic analysis of early published and
archival material for the Indigenous languages of Victoria.
This material is currently being made available on the web
for the public and for educational purposes.
Aboriginal English and its implications for the education
of Aboriginal children, intercultural communication,
and politics
This research explores the failure of the education system
in Australia to improve literacy outcomes for the vast majority
of Aboriginal-English speaking students, a national issue of
highest priority.
3/12/2009 2:40 PM