Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association Conference
University of Wollongong, Australia
Nov 21-14, 2023
Presentation: “Mediated focalisation in video explanations: Implications for the communication of architecture and STEM”
Abstract: In 2019 and 2020, students of two English for Architects and Civil Engineers courses at a German university were tasked with creating a digital, multimodal video composition explaining a technical concept to a lay audience. The resultant multimodal artefacts, however, often did not exhibit typical semiotic patterns associated with explaining or describing in science-related disciplines. In particular, 78% of the artefacts featured mediated focalisation, a framing technique used to align the composer with their audience and more commonly associated with fictional narrative or social media, where the term refers to the position from which events are viewed (‘who sees’) (Painter, et al., 2014). This presentation will describe how this framing technique appeared in the artefacts and explore how and to what effect it was used. It will unpack the implications of using this technique for the performance of professionalism and ‘authenticity’ in architecture and STEM communication.
NSW Institute for Educational Research HDR Student Showcase
NSW Institute for Educational Research, Australia
Oct 21, 2022
Presentation: “Digital, multimodal composing in English for Architecture and Civil Engineering”
Abstract: Students in two university courses of English for Architects and Civil Engineers (A&CE) were tasked with creating digital, multimodal artefacts to explain a concept from either of these fields to a lay audience. These artefacts, and subsequent interviews with the students as both composers and audience members, were examined through the lens of Systemic Functional Semiotics. Three main results have emerged: multimodal assessment tasks such as these promote language development; A&CE models make meaning within a system of signs; and interpersonal meaning was surprisingly important to the students, with 78% of artefacts featuring some kind of ‘mediated focalisation’.
https://www.nswier.org/2022-student-showcase.html
School of Humanities and Social Inquiry’s Research Seminar Series Presentation
University of Wollongong, Australia
Oct 20, 2022
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: In this presentation, we seek to expand upon our earlier research to show how AoCs work to unite Australians around shared values. We are particularly interested in how time and value are linguistically co-constructed as couplings and what this means for communing affiliation in Australian public life (Dreyfus & Zappavigna, 2022). In order to explore this, we used the discourse semantic system of APPRAISAL (Martin & White, 2005) and the AFFILIATION network (Zappavigna & Martin, 2018) to explore how AoCs help align Australians into communities of shared values through ‘bonding’ (Stenglin, 2011).
Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA)
Macquarie University, Australia
Sept 23 – 25, 2022
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: In this presentation, we seek to expand upon our earlier research to show how AoCs work to unite Australians around shared values. We are particularly interested in how time and value are linguistically co-constructed as couplings and what this means for communing affiliation in Australian public life (Dreyfus & Zappavigna, 2022). In order to explore this, we used the discourse semantic system of APPRAISAL (Martin & White, 2005) and the AFFILIATION network (Zappavigna & Martin, 2018) to explore how AoCs help align Australians into communities of shared values through ‘bonding’ (Stenglin, 2011).
The Bremen-Groningen online workshop series on Multimodality
University of Bremen, Germany
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
April 1, 2022
Presentation: “Using Multimodal, Digital Artefacts as a Language Learning Tool in a University English Language Course for Architects and Civil Engineers”
Abstract: This presentation will explore multimodal, digital assessment tasks assigned to students of an English for Architects and Civil Engineers course. The goal is to interrogate whether multimodal assessment tasks such as these can promote the communication of technical concepts, facilitate more nuanced opportunities for meaning making in English and develop the students as social agents. Both artefacts and interview data were examined through the lens of Systemic Functional Semiotics, drawing particularly upon the Genre and Multimodality framework.
https://www.rug.nl/research/clcg/research/dc2017_/events/multimodality-bremen/?lang=en
Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA)
University of Queensland, Australia
Sept 29 – October 1, 2021
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: This presentation focuses on Acknowledgements of Country (AoCs). AoCs are speeches typically delivered at the beginning of events of all kinds by the non-Indigenous Australian host. We discuss the results of a Systemic Functional Linguistic analysis of 20 AoCs (10 spoken and 10 written versions). Specifically, we used the lexicogrammatical system of transitivity, agency (including the cline of responsibility and the discourse semantic systems of activity and appraisal, culminating in a genre analysis.
https://asfla.business.uq.edu.au
International Conference on Multimodality (ICOM)
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
Aug 23 – 27, 2021
Panel Presentation (with Annette Turney and Helen Georgiou): “Exploring learner construction of dynamic multimedia in the tertiary classroom”
Abstract: This panel arises from research work investigating the use of student-generated digital artefacts as assessments tasks in tertiary education. It draws on approaches to multimodality developed within Systemic Functional Semiotics and Legitimation Code Theory. The panel consists of three papers, with the first two papers focusing on pre-service science teacher education and the final paper focusing on English for Specific purposes module for architects and civil engineers.
IDEAS Research Group: Interdisciplinary Discourse Analysis in Education, the Arts and Social Sciences
University of Wollongong, Australia
Nov 3, 2020
Presentation (with Janine Delahunty): “Riding the Rollercoaster: Using Appraisal to analyse rural students’ attitudes to higher education”
Abstract: This workshop will examine data from a NCSEHE 2020 Equity Fellowship project focused on the issue of attrition of regional Australian students from university. Both versions of the appraisal framework have been adopted to examine the data and will be compared to see what the Hidalgo-Tenorio & Benítez-Castro (2020) interpretation can add to the Martin & White (2005) approach.
Kompetenzzentrums Hochschuldidaktik für Niedersachsen (KHN)
“Academic English for Publication”
Lehrstudio, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
February 18–19, 2020
Workshop: Academic English for Publication
2 days; 8 hours/day
Centre Outline: The Competence Centre for Higher Education Didactics for Lower Saxony (KHN) has worked in collaboration with the support of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) since July 2000 as a nationwide operating education centre at the TU Braunschweig. The main tasks of the KHN are the quality development of study and teaching, university didactics research, and practice-oriented further education and counseling for the teaching staff of the universities of Lower Saxony.
Abstract: This two-day workshop is designed to improve academic writing skills in English in order to facilitate publication in international peer-reviewed journals. In addition to developing general skills to guide the writing process towards publication, the instructor will adapt her teaching methods and materials to the needs of the individual course participants based on their target publication outlets. Participants will learn how to create ‘reader-friendly’, publishable texts and work on their texts throughout the entire writing process: from the planning phase, to the creation of an attractive abstract or introduction, to finally editing your work. The course draws on the analysis of published research articles and recent research into English for Academic Purposes.
https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/khn/veranstaltungen
Approaches to Multimodal Digital Environments: from Theory to Practice
Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
June 20 – 22, 2019
Attendance
Conference Outline: Multimodal digital communication is the main theme of this conference in order to attract multidisciplinary research on a wide range of issues from teaching and learning to analysing the multimodal digital data that appears in multiple communication arenas.
TU Nachtschicht 3:
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig
May 15, 2019
Workshop: Writing in Academic English Made Easy
45 mins
Event Outline: See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and prsentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will guide you through the process of writing well in academic English. We will start by looking at what resources you can use to find good academic texts and help your writing skills. Then we will pull some writing apart to see how it works. Once you understand how academic writing is constructed, we will build academic sentences together. Afterwards, you can practice these techniques in a workshop and receive one-on-one feedback on your writing style.
https://ub.tu-braunschweig.de/nachtschicht/
English for Specific Academic Purposes Conference 2019:
“Something old, something new: mediation in the context of ESAP”
Ruhr-Universität Bochum Language Centre (ZFA)
May 11, 2019
Presentation: Mediation in the Context of English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
Collaborative presentation (with Tim Dittmann)
25 mins + 10 mins question time
Conference Outline: As our title suggests, the concept of mediation may be familiar to us, yet remains to some extent obscure and often unrecognized in our teaching. For this reason, many practitioners are hesitant to claim that they make use of mediation. We therefore encourage you to review your practice and consider the conference strands in the broadest possible way. This conference aims to be a stepping-stone into the topic of mediation and the opportunities it provides, and would benefit from you sharing your insights, experiences and your work in progress.
In mediation, the user/learner acts as a social agent who creates bridges and helps to construct or convey meaning, sometimes within the same language, sometimes from one language to another (cross-linguistic mediation). The focus is on: creating the space and conditions for communicating and/or learning, collaborating to construct new meaning, encouraging others to construct or understand new meaning, and passing on new information in an appropriate form. (CEFR Companion Volume (2018), P.103)
Abstract: ‘Mediation’ has become an important concept in English language education in recent years, and in the European context in particular, with mediation included in the core criteria of the CEFR. The popularity of the term itself, however, has also contributed to its mystification, and ‘mediation’ has come to mean a number of different things. To help ground mediation in context, we would like to discuss and answer questions about how we have integrated mediation into a textbook-free C1 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course we designed and implemented at the Technische Universität Braunschweig over the past three semesters.
In this presentation, the process by which the students mediated between their general ‘everyday’ English usage and the discourse of academic English will be described, with reference to a variety of strategies based on functional understandings of texts. We will then explore how the students mediated between each other in task-focused research groups to produce group-written literature reviews, and how social mediation through collaborative interactions can improve language learning. The process of mediating between text types or genres will then be discussed, illustrated by an examination of how the students transformed their literature reviews into group presentations.
http://www.zfa.rub.de/sprachenenglisch/esap_conference.html.en
7th Bremen Symposium 2019
“Rethinking the Language Learner: Paradigmen – Methoden – Disziplinen”
Fremdsprachenzentrum an der Universität Bremen, Germany
February 28 – March 2, 2019
“English for Academic Purposes (EAP): What skills do advanced students need?”
Collaborative presentation (with Tim Dittmann)
25 mins + 10 mins question time
Conference Outline: All areas of our society are currently affected by profound developments and changes. Globalisation, demographic change and increasing digitisation in life and work mean that knowledge and knowledge transfer must be constantly adapted to cope with change. Rapidly growing internationalisation, increasing heterogeneity and diversity, coupled with ever tighter curricula, require a reorientation of language learning and teaching at our universities. Language centers are therefore faced with the challenge of aligning courses and concepts with changing learners, new learning cultures and shifting learning formats. This impacts the work and training of both teachers and students.
The 7th Bremen Symposium would like to offer a platform to shed light on this field of tension and point out interdisciplinary approaches from the point of view of language teaching & research as well as from their related fields. This requires foreign language teaching at universities to intermesh with related disciplines such as neurolinguistics and neurodidactics, and it should also take on board concepts from plurilingual didactics, translanguaging and language awareness. The symposium also wishes to highlight how such concepts can be implemented from a practical point of view in curricula and classrooms in general.
Abstract: One result of the continuing internationalisation of tertiary education in Germany (and globally) has been an increased demand for university-specific, advanced-level foreign language education. As a consequence, English as a Foreign Language programs have evolved their portfolios to include English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. EAP courses focus on fostering the university-specific English language skills necessary to perform successfully across academic contexts. Commonly, the materials available and used for EAP courses are written by British publishers with the particular UK pre-sessional EAP setting in mind, and thus rarely work well as teaching tools in the German EAP context.
In this presentation, we aim to discuss and answer the question of what academic skills an EAP course at a German university should focus on by presenting how we have designed and implemented a textbook-free C1 EAP course over the past three semesters. Central components of this course include fostering students’ abilities to critically evaluate texts, identify authorial stance, and recognise and employ register shifts between informal and academic English by examining academic texts from their particular fields of study. Students develop their team-work skills by creating a short literature review in small groups, in the process learning about academic conventions, and also develop their speaking and presentation skills by presenting the results of their collaborative writing efforts to the their peers.
https://www.fremdsprachenzentrum-bremen.de/2126.0.html?&L=1
Kompetenzzentrums Hochschuldidaktik für Niedersachsen (KHN)
“Teaching in English”
Lehrstudio, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
September 19–20, 2018
Workshop: Teaching in English
2 days; 8 hours/day
Centre Outline: The Competence Centre for Higher Education Didactics for Lower Saxony (KHN) has worked in collaboration with the support of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) since July 2000 as a nationwide operating education centre at the TU Braunschweig. The main tasks of the KHN are the quality development of study and teaching, university didactics research, and practice-oriented further education and counseling for the teaching staff of the universities of Lower Saxony.
Abstract: This two-day workshop will develop the language skills necessary to successfully teach your own subject in English as a second language. We will focus on a broad variety of competencies, such as lecturing and presenting, handling tutorial discussions, offering constructive criticism, classroom management and monitoring student progress. This course will improve your ability to share learning objectives, elicit student contributions, organise activities and review previous learning. It will also help you convey complex ideas, develop your students’ reasoning skills and creativity and monitor student progress. At the end of the workshop you will have the opportunity to ‘teach’ a lesson to the class and receive constructive feedback in order to practice what you’ve learnt in a supportive, productive environment.
Practitioners will:
– practice a range of instructional language
– develop classroom competencies eg. constructive criticism, classroom management
– ‘teach’ a lesson to the class and receive constructive feedback
https://magazin.tu-braunschweig.de/event/teaching-in-english-2/
Niedersächsischer Landessprachentag – State Language Day 2018
“Further Training Event for Foreign Language Teachers”
Medizinischen Hochschule, Hannover, Germany
August 29, 2018
Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
1 hour
Conference Outline: A state-wide professional development day for all language teachers. The Minister of Culture will address the foreign language teachers in a welcoming address. Keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Ing. Michaela Sambanis will address the topic “Fully Normal or not at All? Boredom in the Classroom: Didactics, Brain Research & Psychology”. For the first time, the program will also host cultural events. A must for all English teachers: Mark Lyndon will entertain you well with his program “The Joys of Travel”. For Spanish we are pleased to present the group Guagua de Cuentos. French teachers can look forward to an author reading with Wilfried N’Sondé.
Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
1 hour
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This presentation seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
http://www.klaus-schroeer.com/kunden-publish/fmf-niedersachsen/
International Systemic Functional Congress 2018
“(re)Imagining the Future: Expanding Resources and Making Connections”
Boston College, Boston, USA
July 23–27, 2018
Poster Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
2 hour session
Conference Outline: Since its origins, Systemic Functional Linguistic theory has been conceptualized as an ideologically committed form of social action. The theme “(re)Imagining the future: expanding resources and making connections” helps us consider how we can use SFL in robust ways to address and challenge current and future social issues such as global conflict, deficit migration policies, education inequity and racism. The theme also invites consideration on how to expand semiotic systems that can be used to challenge these issues and generate interdisciplinary knowledge (e.g. sociology and applied linguistics). Because of its focus on building bridges among disciplines, the conference theme also invites those with other linguistic perspectives to participate.
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This paper seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lsoe/faculty-research/ISFC.html
TU Nachtschicht 2:
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig, Germany
May 16, 2018
Workshop: “Simplifiying complexity: How to write complex sentences”
1 hour
Event Outline: See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and presentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will ‘reverse engineer’ complex academic writing and break down complex sentences to examine how they are formed. It will then look at some techniques for writing more sophisticated sentences, and systematically go through the steps of building complex sentences from a simple ones. Afterwards, students can practice these techniques and receive one-on-one feedback on their writing style.
https://ub.tu-braunschweig.de/nachtschicht/
Englisch & Mehrsprachigkeit Bundeskongress 2017
“English in its Diversity”
Tagungshaus, Nürnberg, Germany
December 01 -02, 2017
Event Outline: The conference focuses were English for Special Purposes, Technical English, Professional English and International English.
Presentation 1: “Forging links between English for Vocational Training and English for Special Purposes at a Technical University”
Collaborative presentation (with Rainer Barthel and Dr. Mario Oesterreicher)
45 mins + 15 mins question time
Abstract: In order for students to be able to transition between vocational colleges, applied universites and technical universities, there needs to be more institutional cooperation. Educators from all fields should become aware of the different curricula, course requirements and administrative prerequisites. Individuals should also form intra-institutional bonds in order to facilitate student transitions between the different institutions.
Presentation 2: “Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool”
45 mins + 15 mins question time
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This paper seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
http://englisch-und-mehrsprachigkeit.de
3rd Bremen Conference on Multimodality
“Multimodality – Towards a New Discipline”
Bremen University, Germany
September 20-22, 2017
Attendance
Conference Outline: The Bremen Conferences on Multimodality are annual events with speakers from all over the world discussing and presenting recent topics of multimodal research. As an interdisciplinary and international symposium, each conference offers a place to think about developments and advancements in the topic of multimodality and the disciplines connected to this field of research. BreMM14 was dedicated to building bridges between various multimodality-ready disciplines, and BreMM15 concerned itself with theoretical and methodological exploration. The upcoming Third Bremen Conference, BreMM17, plans to lay the foundation for the formation of a standalone discipline to be dubbed ‘multimodality’ as opposed to the widespread interdisciplinary view.
https://www.mm2014.uni-bremen.de/
Oxford Academic English Day
“Challenging the ‘Sink or Swim’ Approach to Reading and Listening” and
“Bicycles or Boiling Water: Changing how Learners see Grammar”
Sprachenzentrum, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
September 01, 2017
Attendance
Event Outline: Join OUP, Sprachenzentrum TU Braunschweig and Catherine Walter at our Oxford Academic English Day in Braunschweig for two informative and highly interesting workshops. You’ll be getting lots of new hints, tips and practical ideas for your English classroom.
http://oupeltemail.com/1Q6R-51KJD-B6MB799LF4/cr.aspx
English for Specific Academic Purposes Conference 2017:
“Writing for Specific Academic Purposes”
Ruhr-Universität Bochum Language Centre (ZFA), Germany
May 13, 2017
Attendance
Conference Outline: The conference areas of focus are a selection of methodologies and techniques to develop writing for Specific Academic Purposes, with a particular emphasis on the importance of the practitioner in the writing process.
http://www.zfa.rub.de/sprachen/englisch/esap_conference.html.en
TU Nachtschicht
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig, Germany
January 20, 2017
Workshop: “Simplifiying complexity: How to write complex sentences”
1 hour
See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and presentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will ‘reverse engineer’ complex academic writing and break down complex sentences to examine how they are formed. It will then look at some techniques for writing more sophisticated sentences, and systematically go through the steps of building complex sentences from a simple ones. Afterwards, students can practice these techniques and receive one-on-one feedback on their writing style.
https://ub.tu-braunschweig.de/nachtschicht/
Nov 2023 University of Wollongong, Australia
Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association Conference 2023
Presentation: “Mediated focalisation in video explanations: Implications for the communication of architecture and STEM”
NSW Institute for Educational Research HDR Student Showcase
NSW Institute for Educational Research, Australia
Oct 21, 2022
Presentation: “Digital, multimodal composing in English for Architecture and Civil Engineering”
Abstract: Students in two university courses of English for Architects and Civil Engineers (A&CE) were tasked with creating digital, multimodal artefacts to explain a concept from either of these fields to a lay audience. These artefacts, and subsequent interviews with the students as both composers and audience members, were examined through the lens of Systemic Functional Semiotics. Three main results have emerged: multimodal assessment tasks such as these promote language development; A&CE models make meaning within a system of signs; and interpersonal meaning was surprisingly important to the students, with 78% of artefacts featuring some kind of ‘mediated focalisation’.
https://www.nswier.org/2022-student-showcase.html
School of Humanities and Social Inquiry’s Research Seminar Series Presentation
University of Wollongong, Australia
Oct 20, 2022
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: In this presentation, we seek to expand upon our earlier research to show how AoCs work to unite Australians around shared values. We are particularly interested in how time and value are linguistically co-constructed as couplings and what this means for communing affiliation in Australian public life (Dreyfus & Zappavigna, 2022). In order to explore this, we used the discourse semantic system of APPRAISAL (Martin & White, 2005) and the AFFILIATION network (Zappavigna & Martin, 2018) to explore how AoCs help align Australians into communities of shared values through ‘bonding’ (Stenglin, 2011).
Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA)
Macquarie University, Australia
Sept 23 – 25, 2022
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: In this presentation, we seek to expand upon our earlier research to show how AoCs work to unite Australians around shared values. We are particularly interested in how time and value are linguistically co-constructed as couplings and what this means for communing affiliation in Australian public life (Dreyfus & Zappavigna, 2022). In order to explore this, we used the discourse semantic system of APPRAISAL (Martin & White, 2005) and the AFFILIATION network (Zappavigna & Martin, 2018) to explore how AoCs help align Australians into communities of shared values through ‘bonding’ (Stenglin, 2011).
The Bremen-Groningen online workshop series on Multimodality
University of Bremen, Germany
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
April 1, 2022
Presentation: “Using Multimodal, Digital Artefacts as a Language Learning Tool in a University English Language Course for Architects and Civil Engineers”
Abstract: This presentation will explore multimodal, digital assessment tasks assigned to students of an English for Architects and Civil Engineers course. The goal is to interrogate whether multimodal assessment tasks such as these can promote the communication of technical concepts, facilitate more nuanced opportunities for meaning making in English and develop the students as social agents. Both artefacts and interview data were examined through the lens of Systemic Functional Semiotics, drawing particularly upon the Genre and Multimodality framework.
https://www.rug.nl/research/clcg/research/dc2017_/events/multimodality-bremen/?lang=en
Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA)
University of Queensland, Australia
Sept 29 – October 1, 2021
Presentation (with Shoshana Dreyfus): “Moving beyond apology – A linguistic analysis of ‘Acknowledgements of Country'”
Abstract: This presentation focuses on Acknowledgements of Country (AoCs). AoCs are speeches typically delivered at the beginning of events of all kinds by the non-Indigenous Australian host. We discuss the results of a Systemic Functional Linguistic analysis of 20 AoCs (10 spoken and 10 written versions). Specifically, we used the lexicogrammatical system of transitivity, agency (including the cline of responsibility and the discourse semantic systems of activity and appraisal, culminating in a genre analysis.
https://asfla.business.uq.edu.au
International Conference on Multimodality (ICOM)
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
Aug 23 – 27, 2021
Panel Presentation (with Annette Turney and Helen Georgiou): “Exploring learner construction of dynamic multimedia in the tertiary classroom”
Abstract: This panel arises from research work investigating the use of student-generated digital artefacts as assessments tasks in tertiary education. It draws on approaches to multimodality developed within Systemic Functional Semiotics and Legitimation Code Theory. The panel consists of three papers, with the first two papers focusing on pre-service science teacher education and the final paper focusing on English for Specific purposes module for architects and civil engineers.
IDEAS Research Group: Interdisciplinary Discourse Analysis in Education, the Arts and Social Sciences
University of Wollongong, Australia
Nov 3, 2020
Presentation (with Janine Delahunty): “Riding the Rollercoaster: Using Appraisal to analyse rural students’ attitudes to higher education”
Abstract: This workshop will examine data from a NCSEHE 2020 Equity Fellowship project focused on the issue of attrition of regional Australian students from university. Both versions of the appraisal framework have been adopted to examine the data and will be compared to see what the Hidalgo-Tenorio & Benítez-Castro (2020) interpretation can add to the Martin & White (2005) approach.
Kompetenzzentrums Hochschuldidaktik für Niedersachsen (KHN)
“Academic English for Publication”
Lehrstudio, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
February 18–19, 2020
Workshop: Academic English for Publication
2 days; 8 hours/day
Centre Outline: The Competence Centre for Higher Education Didactics for Lower Saxony (KHN) has worked in collaboration with the support of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) since July 2000 as a nationwide operating education centre at the TU Braunschweig. The main tasks of the KHN are the quality development of study and teaching, university didactics research, and practice-oriented further education and counseling for the teaching staff of the universities of Lower Saxony.
Abstract: This two-day workshop is designed to improve academic writing skills in English in order to facilitate publication in international peer-reviewed journals. In addition to developing general skills to guide the writing process towards publication, the instructor will adapt her teaching methods and materials to the needs of the individual course participants based on their target publication outlets. Participants will learn how to create ‘reader-friendly’, publishable texts and work on their texts throughout the entire writing process: from the planning phase, to the creation of an attractive abstract or introduction, to finally editing your work. The course draws on the analysis of published research articles and recent research into English for Academic Purposes.
https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/khn/veranstaltungen
Approaches to Multimodal Digital Environments: from Theory to Practice
Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
June 20 – 22, 2019
Attendance
Conference Outline: Multimodal digital communication is the main theme of this conference in order to attract multidisciplinary research on a wide range of issues from teaching and learning to analysing the multimodal digital data that appears in multiple communication arenas.
TU Nachtschicht 3:
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig
May 15, 2019
Workshop: Writing in Academic English Made Easy
45 mins
Event Outline: See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and prsentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will guide you through the process of writing well in academic English. We will start by looking at what resources you can use to find good academic texts and help your writing skills. Then we will pull some writing apart to see how it works. Once you understand how academic writing is constructed, we will build academic sentences together. Afterwards, you can practice these techniques in a workshop and receive one-on-one feedback on your writing style.
https://ub.tu-braunschweig.de/nachtschicht/
English for Specific Academic Purposes Conference 2019:
“Something old, something new: mediation in the context of ESAP”
Ruhr-Universität Bochum Language Centre (ZFA)
May 11, 2019
Presentation: Mediation in the Context of English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
Collaborative presentation (with Tim Dittmann)
25 mins + 10 mins question time
Conference Outline: As our title suggests, the concept of mediation may be familiar to us, yet remains to some extent obscure and often unrecognized in our teaching. For this reason, many practitioners are hesitant to claim that they make use of mediation. We therefore encourage you to review your practice and consider the conference strands in the broadest possible way. This conference aims to be a stepping-stone into the topic of mediation and the opportunities it provides, and would benefit from you sharing your insights, experiences and your work in progress.
In mediation, the user/learner acts as a social agent who creates bridges and helps to construct or convey meaning, sometimes within the same language, sometimes from one language to another (cross-linguistic mediation). The focus is on: creating the space and conditions for communicating and/or learning, collaborating to construct new meaning, encouraging others to construct or understand new meaning, and passing on new information in an appropriate form. (CEFR Companion Volume (2018), P.103)
Abstract: ‘Mediation’ has become an important concept in English language education in recent years, and in the European context in particular, with mediation included in the core criteria of the CEFR. The popularity of the term itself, however, has also contributed to its mystification, and ‘mediation’ has come to mean a number of different things. To help ground mediation in context, we would like to discuss and answer questions about how we have integrated mediation into a textbook-free C1 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course we designed and implemented at the Technische Universität Braunschweig over the past three semesters.
In this presentation, the process by which the students mediated between their general ‘everyday’ English usage and the discourse of academic English will be described, with reference to a variety of strategies based on functional understandings of texts. We will then explore how the students mediated between each other in task-focused research groups to produce group-written literature reviews, and how social mediation through collaborative interactions can improve language learning. The process of mediating between text types or genres will then be discussed, illustrated by an examination of how the students transformed their literature reviews into group presentations.
http://www.zfa.rub.de/sprachenenglisch/esap_conference.html.en
7th Bremen Symposium 2019
“Rethinking the Language Learner: Paradigmen – Methoden – Disziplinen”
Fremdsprachenzentrum an der Universität Bremen, Germany
February 28 – March 2, 2019
“English for Academic Purposes (EAP): What skills do advanced students need?”
Collaborative presentation (with Tim Dittmann)
25 mins + 10 mins question time
Conference Outline: All areas of our society are currently affected by profound developments and changes. Globalisation, demographic change and increasing digitisation in life and work mean that knowledge and knowledge transfer must be constantly adapted to cope with change. Rapidly growing internationalisation, increasing heterogeneity and diversity, coupled with ever tighter curricula, require a reorientation of language learning and teaching at our universities. Language centers are therefore faced with the challenge of aligning courses and concepts with changing learners, new learning cultures and shifting learning formats. This impacts the work and training of both teachers and students.
The 7th Bremen Symposium would like to offer a platform to shed light on this field of tension and point out interdisciplinary approaches from the point of view of language teaching & research as well as from their related fields. This requires foreign language teaching at universities to intermesh with related disciplines such as neurolinguistics and neurodidactics, and it should also take on board concepts from plurilingual didactics, translanguaging and language awareness. The symposium also wishes to highlight how such concepts can be implemented from a practical point of view in curricula and classrooms in general.
Abstract: One result of the continuing internationalisation of tertiary education in Germany (and globally) has been an increased demand for university-specific, advanced-level foreign language education. As a consequence, English as a Foreign Language programs have evolved their portfolios to include English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. EAP courses focus on fostering the university-specific English language skills necessary to perform successfully across academic contexts. Commonly, the materials available and used for EAP courses are written by British publishers with the particular UK pre-sessional EAP setting in mind, and thus rarely work well as teaching tools in the German EAP context.
In this presentation, we aim to discuss and answer the question of what academic skills an EAP course at a German university should focus on by presenting how we have designed and implemented a textbook-free C1 EAP course over the past three semesters. Central components of this course include fostering students’ abilities to critically evaluate texts, identify authorial stance, and recognise and employ register shifts between informal and academic English by examining academic texts from their particular fields of study. Students develop their team-work skills by creating a short literature review in small groups, in the process learning about academic conventions, and also develop their speaking and presentation skills by presenting the results of their collaborative writing efforts to the their peers.
https://www.fremdsprachenzentrum-bremen.de/2126.0.html?&L=1
Kompetenzzentrums Hochschuldidaktik für Niedersachsen (KHN)
“Teaching in English”
Lehrstudio, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
September 19–20, 2018
Workshop: Teaching in English
2 days; 8 hours/day
Centre Outline: The Competence Centre for Higher Education Didactics for Lower Saxony (KHN) has worked in collaboration with the support of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) since July 2000 as a nationwide operating education centre at the TU Braunschweig. The main tasks of the KHN are the quality development of study and teaching, university didactics research, and practice-oriented further education and counseling for the teaching staff of the universities of Lower Saxony.
Abstract: This two-day workshop will develop the language skills necessary to successfully teach your own subject in English as a second language. We will focus on a broad variety of competencies, such as lecturing and presenting, handling tutorial discussions, offering constructive criticism, classroom management and monitoring student progress. This course will improve your ability to share learning objectives, elicit student contributions, organise activities and review previous learning. It will also help you convey complex ideas, develop your students’ reasoning skills and creativity and monitor student progress. At the end of the workshop you will have the opportunity to ‘teach’ a lesson to the class and receive constructive feedback in order to practice what you’ve learnt in a supportive, productive environment.
Practitioners will:
– practice a range of instructional language
– develop classroom competencies eg. constructive criticism, classroom management
– ‘teach’ a lesson to the class and receive constructive feedback
https://magazin.tu-braunschweig.de/event/teaching-in-english-2/
Niedersächsischer Landessprachentag – State Language Day 2018
“Further Training Event for Foreign Language Teachers”
Medizinischen Hochschule, Hannover, Germany
August 29, 2018
Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
1 hour
Conference Outline: A state-wide professional development day for all language teachers. The Minister of Culture will address the foreign language teachers in a welcoming address. Keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Ing. Michaela Sambanis will address the topic “Fully Normal or not at All? Boredom in the Classroom: Didactics, Brain Research & Psychology”. For the first time, the program will also host cultural events. A must for all English teachers: Mark Lyndon will entertain you well with his program “The Joys of Travel”. For Spanish we are pleased to present the group Guagua de Cuentos. French teachers can look forward to an author reading with Wilfried N’Sondé.
Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
1 hour
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This presentation seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
http://www.klaus-schroeer.com/kunden-publish/fmf-niedersachsen/
International Systemic Functional Congress 2018
“(re)Imagining the Future: Expanding Resources and Making Connections”
Boston College, Boston, USA
July 23–27, 2018
Poster Presentation: Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Using Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool at a Technical University
2 hour session
Conference Outline: Since its origins, Systemic Functional Linguistic theory has been conceptualized as an ideologically committed form of social action. The theme “(re)Imagining the future: expanding resources and making connections” helps us consider how we can use SFL in robust ways to address and challenge current and future social issues such as global conflict, deficit migration policies, education inequity and racism. The theme also invites consideration on how to expand semiotic systems that can be used to challenge these issues and generate interdisciplinary knowledge (e.g. sociology and applied linguistics). Because of its focus on building bridges among disciplines, the conference theme also invites those with other linguistic perspectives to participate.
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This paper seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lsoe/faculty-research/ISFC.html
TU Nachtschicht 2:
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig, Germany
May 16, 2018
Workshop: “Simplifiying complexity: How to write complex sentences”
1 hour
Event Outline: See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and presentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will ‘reverse engineer’ complex academic writing and break down complex sentences to examine how they are formed. It will then look at some techniques for writing more sophisticated sentences, and systematically go through the steps of building complex sentences from a simple ones. Afterwards, students can practice these techniques and receive one-on-one feedback on their writing style.
https://ub.tu-braunschweig.de/nachtschicht/
Englisch & Mehrsprachigkeit Bundeskongress 2017
“English in its Diversity”
Tagungshaus, Nürnberg, Germany
December 01 -02, 2017
Event Outline: The conference focuses were English for Special Purposes, Technical English, Professional English and International English.
Presentation 1: “Forging links between English for Vocational Training and English for Special Purposes at a Technical University”
Collaborative presentation (with Rainer Barthel and Dr. Mario Oesterreicher)
45 mins + 15 mins question time
Abstract: In order for students to be able to transition between vocational colleges, applied universites and technical universities, there needs to be more institutional cooperation. Educators from all fields should become aware of the different curricula, course requirements and administrative prerequisites. Individuals should also form intra-institutional bonds in order to facilitate student transitions between the different institutions.
Presentation 2: “Multimodal Literacy and ESP: Video Compositions as a Language Learning Tool”
45 mins + 15 mins question time
Abstract: The use of multimodal inquiry projects in the classroom reflects diverse cultural practices and can empower marginalized students (McGinnis, 2007, Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002). This paper seeks to connect multimodal discourse analysis with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) literacy practices in a technical university. In a field dominated by research in primary and secondary education, investigations into multimodal practices in tertiary classrooms have focused largely on first language English users. It is important to apply these ideas in the field of ESP, where extralinguistic modes like pictures and gestures provide an essential link between languages, and especially in the sciences, where visual literacy is emphasized with diagrams and models (Gilbert, 2005). My paper will draw data from four classes of architecture/civil engineering students studying ESP over two semesters. They are tasked with producing a short video communicating a technical concept to a lay audience using a variety of semiotic modes: this project will explore this process of transmediation through a social semiotic analytical framework (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001, Bateman & Wildfeuer, 2014).
http://englisch-und-mehrsprachigkeit.de
3rd Bremen Conference on Multimodality
“Multimodality – Towards a New Discipline”
Bremen University, Germany
September 20-22, 2017
Attendance
Conference Outline: The Bremen Conferences on Multimodality are annual events with speakers from all over the world discussing and presenting recent topics of multimodal research. As an interdisciplinary and international symposium, each conference offers a place to think about developments and advancements in the topic of multimodality and the disciplines connected to this field of research. BreMM14 was dedicated to building bridges between various multimodality-ready disciplines, and BreMM15 concerned itself with theoretical and methodological exploration. The upcoming Third Bremen Conference, BreMM17, plans to lay the foundation for the formation of a standalone discipline to be dubbed ‘multimodality’ as opposed to the widespread interdisciplinary view.
https://www.mm2014.uni-bremen.de/
Oxford Academic English Day
“Challenging the ‘Sink or Swim’ Approach to Reading and Listening” and
“Bicycles or Boiling Water: Changing how Learners see Grammar”
Sprachenzentrum, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
September 01, 2017
Attendance
Event Outline: Join OUP, Sprachenzentrum TU Braunschweig and Catherine Walter at our Oxford Academic English Day in Braunschweig for two informative and highly interesting workshops. You’ll be getting lots of new hints, tips and practical ideas for your English classroom.
http://oupeltemail.com/1Q6R-51KJD-B6MB799LF4/cr.aspx
English for Specific Academic Purposes Conference 2017:
“Writing for Specific Academic Purposes”
Ruhr-Universität Bochum Language Centre (ZFA), Germany
May 13, 2017
Attendance
Conference Outline: The conference areas of focus are a selection of methodologies and techniques to develop writing for Specific Academic Purposes, with a particular emphasis on the importance of the practitioner in the writing process.
http://www.zfa.rub.de/sprachen/englisch/esap_conference.html.en
TU Nachtschicht
“Komm in die Puschen”
Universitätsbibliothek, Braunschweig, Germany
January 20, 2017
Workshop: “Simplifiying complexity: How to write complex sentences”
1 hour
See writing as an adventure and conquer the blank page! Through a series of workshops and presentations, this event seeks to support students who are writing projects, reports or theses. We offer research tips, motivation exercises, training in multimedia realization, and language skills. Revive yourself with our complimentary Heimbs coffee and vitamin bar and inspire yourself to succeed through a variety of lectures, workshops and presentations.
Abstract: This workshop will ‘reverse engineer’ complex academic writing and break down complex sentences to examine how they are formed. It will then look at some techniques for writing more sophisticated sentences, and systematically go through the steps of building complex sentences from a simple ones. Afterwards, students can practice these techniques and receive one-on-one feedback on their writing style.
Anne Hellwig 