Rita Elaine Silver

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Head of Faculty at National Institute of Education

For this Voice of Experience, we draw on the experience of our research grants management unit in harnessing online platforms to hold various types of meetings during the recent local and international COVID-19 lockdown. Even as we return to some face-to-face meetings, we note the value and convenience of online meetings (e.g. with international co...

The Zhuang language test (Vahcuengh Sawcuengh Suijbingz Gaujsi, VSSG) is the first minority language test in the People's Republic of China. It was designed with multiple goals including improving Zhuang language teaching, recruiting students for relevant majors of tertiary study, identifying proficiency for work-related applications, and piloting...

Systematic reviews have witnessed significant growth across many fields, including education. In this article, we outline the background of this growth, highlight the tendency to focus on methodological considerations, and propose a framework to support education researchers in preparing systematic reviews with broad impact. We draw on our experien...

Hospitals serve as a public space for medical practice. They also serve as an educational space. Effective, transparent, and timely delivery of health information is important at all times but especially in times of pan/epidemics. A crucial part of the necessary information dissemination is language-in-use for multiple purposes (medical practice, e...

While dissemination of information is a key function of health communication, signage at medical facilities has other functions: signs can be a type of marketing (e.g., services offered), can promote credibility and inspire trust, can exacerbate or ameliorate social inequalities and can provide educational opportunities. All of these functions are...

The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Englishes describes both the history and the contemporary forms, functions, and status of English in Southeast Asia (SEA). Since the arrival of English traders to Southeast Asia in the 17th century, the English language has had a profound impact on the linguistic ecologies and the development of societies thro...

This study investigates the subjectivities of tertiary students in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) of the People’s Republic of China. Specifically, we investigate self-reported language practices and attitudes in relation to identities in a language ecology with three prominent languages (Zhuang, Standard Chinese [Putonghua], and Englis...

Research from both science and literacy education has provided a rich repertoire of ways that the language demands of science can be addressed in classrooms. However, there has been relatively less research on knowledge required by teachers, so they can fully leverage on this repertoire. This study builds on the LRKCT framework proposed in Seah, Si...

This chapter provides a preamble for this volume by presenting a framework on the language-related knowledge for content teachers (LRKCT), which the rest of the volume illuminates and builds on. Our LRKCT framework serves to inform how content teachers represent content knowledge linguistically as well as support the learning of general academic di...

Linguistic schoolscapes (LS), according to Brown ([2012]. The linguistic landscape of educational spaces: Language revitalization and schools in southeastern EEstonia. In D. Gorter, H. F. Marten, & L. Van Mensel (Eds.), Minority languages in the linguistic landscape (pp. 281–298). Palgrave-Macmillan., can represent the identity and image of educati...

Long-term school absences during pandemic lockdowns may result in learning gains and losses much like the summer reading loss, but little is known about the actual effects of such lockdowns. This mixed-methods study examined changes in reading enjoyment, amount and resources in three groups of bilingual children – English-Chinese, English-Malay and...

This study examines how mentoring through post observation conversations can provide opportunities for feedback and teacher reflection as part of teacher professional development. Using Conversation Analysis, and building on our previous work, we draw attention to procedural details by which a different role within the professional role-set is enac...

The spread of English is so much an integral part of globalization that it has become an essential global literacy skill. In Asia, this poses immense challenges to governments and English language teaching and teacher education professions as they attempt to meet this demand from students for a high level of English proficiency. This volume examine...

Teacher professional development (TPD) through supported pedagogical innovations relies on teacher understanding (TU) of what is proposed, how the innovation can be enacted, and ways in which an innovation might be effectively adapted to local conditions. This article describes evolving TU during a 1-year reading comprehension innovation. Analysis,...

This case study examines how three science teachers in a secondary school attended to the language demands of science through oral interactions in classes of multilingual students with diverse English proficiencies. It specifically unpacks the intricate role of language in science education, where teachers must address disciplinary-specific languag...

The basic structure and rhetoric of national language policy in multilingual Singapore has remained essentially unchanged since independence with four official languages positioned within the national quadrilingual framework and used in all public spheres, and individual bilingualism encouraged in the private sphere. However, also since independenc...

The official narrative told by national census data in Singapore is that of massive language shift within one generation from a myriad of Chinese dialects towards Mandarin and English as dominant home languages. This story of shift is often told in ways that suggest the community completely and pragmatically transformed its practices and allegiance...

We present a micro-analysis of post observation conversations between classroom teachers and mentors. Using the approach of conversation analysis, we show how the sequential organization of an episode (i.e., who initiates the interaction, question format used by mentors) could potentially serve to provoke or hinder teacher reflection. Our analysis...

In this chapter, we provide background for understanding the empirical studies reported in this volume. We offer information on language in education in the Singapore context by first explaining why we refer to ‘quadrilingual education’ in Singapore. We then highlight four themes that overarch the educational system as a whole and within which lang...

This chapter presents data from a study of primary grade 1 and grade 2 (P1 and P2) lessons for Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. There are few, if any, comparative studies which examine pedagogy in all four official languages in Singapore; therefore, our primary purpose is to investigate how classroom teaching is similar or different for the four...

When we began to conceptualise this book, we had a number of core questions in mind, largely emerging from what we see as a contrast between dramatically shifting sociolinguistic practices due to changing demographics and spawned by generational shifts and immigration policy on the one hand yet largely staid language ideology on the other. Language...

This book explores Singapore’s language education system. Unlike previous volumes, which discuss the bilingual requirement for learning, it focuses on Singapore’s quadrilingual system, bringing together articles on each of the four languages – English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil – as well as articles that examine more than one language. It highlight...

In this article, we describe and reflect on a collaborative, school-based professional development project (an ‘intervention’) intended to encourage innovation in classroom teaching. Specifically, the intervention included a collaboration between university-based researchers/mentors and primary school teachers in Singapore who were interested in di...

The first chapter gives some background for reading this book. Among the many roles that language plays in our lives, this volume is particularly interested in understanding the role of language in education. In this chapter, we introduce some of the connections between language and education that we think are important. The chapter begins with pre...

Teachers in any subject area must have a basic understanding of how language is learned and used in educational contexts because language impacts teaching and learning across all subjects. This book is written specifically for those teachers and teacher trainees who want to know more about language learning and use in educational contexts and, espe...

The first chapter gives some background for reading this book. Among the many roles that language plays in our lives, this volume is particularly interested in understanding the role of language in education. In this chapter, we introduce some of the connections between language and education that we think are important. The chapter begins with pre...

Robert Fisher is widely known for his well-established work on teaching thinking. His accessible writing, tried and tested classroom activities and practical advice have made him very popular with teachers, student teachers and teacher educators. He is particularly effective at keeping abreast with relevant curriculum developments and with research...

Robert Fisher is widely known for his well-established work on teaching thinking. His accessible writing, tried and tested classroom activities and practical advice have made him very popular with teachers, student teachers and teacher educators. He is particularly effective at keeping abreast with relevant curriculum developments and with research...

This chapter presents findings on English Language instruction at the lower primary level in the context of policies for curricular innovation at national, school and classroom levels. The focus is on policies which connect national and school levels, and on how they might be interpreted when implemented in multiple schools within Singapore’s educa...

This article presents an ongoing study of educational policy enactment in Singapore lower primary English classrooms. It explores how teachers react to and interpret educational reforms in their classroom practices against a backdrop of traditional cultural values. Using a prescribed coding scheme, the article presents the instructional organisatio...

To better comprehend how educational reforms and classroom practice interconnect, we need to understand the epistemic environments created for learning, as well as the pedagogical activities and the modes of classroom discourse related to these activities. This article examines how a particular innovation in English literacy, Strategies for English...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (300-600 WORDS) Purpose / Research Question This one-year project was an investigation into the ongoing implementation of recent policy initiatives that influence pedagogies, curriculum innovation, and instructional practices in primary education in Singapore. Investigation covered P1 and P2 in all core subjects: English, Mother T...

This paper considers the problematic enactment of instructional innovations. We examine how different interpretations of “success” might be explained within a frame of reference that confronts the complexities of and uncovers the contingencies relating to educational policy implementation in schools. Based on the detailed description and comparison...

In renewing her TESOL membership for 2008, the author noted that the membership letter stated that TESOL is a "global professional organization for English language educators." This was of particular interest as she prepared for TESOL's Bilingual Education Interest Section (BEIS) 2008 session titled "Imagining Multilingual TESOL," because on a glob...

These objectives address crucial concerns of teachers about the role of peer work in Singapore's English language classes. Specifically, teachers have expressed concern about the use of codeswitching between Mother Tongue (MT) and English, the use of so- called 'Singlish' (Singapore Colloquial English or SCE), and the impact of communicative group...

The developing understandings of teacher-trainees of language and content connections in `subject' teaching in Singapore's bilingual primary schools are explored in this article. I narrate the development of the project, the trainee responses, and my own reflections on the process. Throughout, I take an Exploratory Practice (Allwright, 2003) stance...

This study investigates the effects of teacher written feedback on students' writing in the Singapore primary school context. We discuss different types of teacher feedback - advice, criticism, and praise - and how successful each is in encouraging revisions by Primary 4 children. Quality of revision is discussed in terms of length and overall impr...

In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the relationships among various kinds of conversational interaction and second language learning outcomes. Prior studies have indicated that feedback provided during interaction is beneficial for the learning of second language grammar. However, relatively little empirical work has...

This paper examines the historical and current connections between English language education policy and economic development policy in Singapore. Policy statements on English language education policy in Singapore are used to demonstrate the ways that English is given a role in economic development and modernization by government officials and edu...

This report presents findings from the PPELE study of English language instruction in classrooms in five countries and discusses how those findings relate to stated governmental policies on language and education. Data from classroom lessons and teacher rationale statements show that teachers are aware of policy initiatives related to language educ...

This study is motivated by theoretical questions about the role of the linguistic environment on second language acquisition (SLA) (Long, 1996). The study extends existing research by examining three theoretical perspectives on interaction and conditions necessary for SLA. The conditions investigated are input, output, and negotiation. Specifically...

The study described here investigated the refusal strategies of intermediate-level second language learners and the potential for developing sociolinguistic competence in nonnative speakers (NNS) through classroom instruction. Subjects were six college students of English as a Second Language, divided into treatment and control groups. The treatmen...

KEY IMPLICATIONS • The key role of school administrators and teachers designated with responsibility to disseminate and implement policies ("school policy managers") might be missed if policymakers and researchers focus only on teachers and classrooms. • School-based initiatives can be very effective in the local context. However when coupled with...