Literature as activism: interrogating the 21st century demise of the Arendtian political public sphere

This article explores Don DeLillo's literary activism through Arendtian perspectives to investigate what the demise of literature's relevance, specifically in a political context, may mean in the current era of an increasingly complex and conflicting 'web of human relationships'.  In that it is accepted that narrative has a particular ability to reveal insights as prelinguistic elements that are distinct from all we are able to access through our limited human perceptions, it remarks the Lacanian paradox that if being is in excess of language, then language is the medium by which this is accessed in the world. For DeLillo, writers may be under threat in a dynamic but destabilizing era, their art superceded by technology and fundamentalist terrorism, however, as suggested in Mao II, this renders the writer all the more necessary.  It is at the point at which the writer has nothing to say or is under duress to say noting, that a human crisis is reached. I ask, do current forms of political pressure to censure literature constitute a further diminishing of the Arendtian political public domain in which speech as action has primacy?

Uni has a different language … to the real world: demystifying academic culture and discourse for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds

The Australian government has set ambitious targets for increased higher-education participation of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds. There is, thus, a pressing need to explore how best to empower these students with what they require to progress and succeed at university. The paper draws on a literature review and qualitative data from a national study in which 89 students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and 26 staff were interviewed. The paper argues that demystifying academic culture and discourses for these students is a key step institutions and staff can take in assisting students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to progress and succeed at university. A recurring theme to emerge from both the literature and interviews with students and staff was that teaching the discourse empowers and enables students to learn, has a positive impact on their sense of belonging and ultimately helps them succeed in higher education.

Promoting a respect for difference through language teaching

An emphasis on developing students’ moral and ethical characteris evident in the 2013 National Indonesian Curriculum. In this article, I lookat how respect for difference is reflected in the 2013 Indonesian NationalCurriculum, specifically referring to the second key competency area forsenior high school English language. I also draw reference from academicliterature that can be linked to this competency area of the English curriculum.Exploring theoretical links from the literature is useful to develop adeeper understanding of the importance of this key competency area. Discussionexplores the significance of respect for difference and the importantrole that English language teachers in Indonesia can play in promoting tolerance.By understanding how culture can be used as a divisive force, we canmore readily identify how teachers can develop a respect for difference intheir students to help overcome intolerant attitudes that can lead to discrimination.

Healthcare costs associated with language difficulties up to 9 years of age: Australian population-based study

PURPOSE: This study aimed to quantify the non-hospital healthcare costs associated with language difficulties within two nationally representative samples of children. METHOD: Data were from three biennial waves (2004-2008) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (B cohort: 0-5 years; K cohort: 4-9 years). Language difficulties were defined as scores ≤ 1.25 SD below the mean on measures of parent-reported communication (0-3 years) and directly assessed vocabulary (4-9 years). Participant data were linked to administrative data on non-hospital healthcare attendances and prescription medications from the universal Australian Medicare subsidized healthcare scheme. RESULT: It was found that healthcare costs over each 2-year age band were higher for children with than without language difficulties at 0-1, 2-3, and 4-5 years, notably 36% higher (mean difference = $AU206, 95% CI = $90, $321) at 4-5 years (B cohort). The slightly higher 2-year healthcare costs for children with language difficulties at 6-7 and 8-9 years were not statistically different from those without language difficulties. Modelled to the corresponding Australian child population, 2-year government costs ranged from $AU1.2-$AU12.1 million (depending on age examined). Six-year healthcare costs increased with the persistence of language difficulties in the K cohort, with total Medicare costs increasing by $192 (95% CI = $74, $311; p = .002) for each additional wave of language difficulties. CONCLUSION: Language difficulties (whether transient or persistent) were associated with substantial excess population healthcare costs in childhood, which are in addition to the known broader costs incurred through the education system. It is unclear whether healthcare costs were specifically due to the assessment and/or treatment of language difficulties, as opposed to conditions that may be co-morbid with or may cause language difficulties.

Accommodating taboo language in English language teaching: issues of appropriacy and authenticity

Culturally specific language practices related to vernacular uses of taboo language such as swearing represent a socially communicative minefield for learners of English. The role of classroom learning experiences to prepare learners for negotiation of taboo language use in social interactions is correspondingly complicated and ignored in much of the language teaching research literature. English language teachers confront not only obstacles to effective development of sociolinguistic and cultural knowledge in classroom instruction, and failure of course-books to address taboo language, but also uncertainties they themselves have about addressing such obstacles and omissions. In this paper, we draw on interview data from three experienced teachers of English as an additional language, to explore their perceptions and classroom practices in relation to taboo language. In particular, we explore the situational appropriateness of mild taboo swearing using the lexical item, bloody, which has a strong positioning in Australian language culture. Dilemmas surrounding this potentially troublesome item of Australian English are foregrounded in relation to the extent to which often neglected, but widely used taboo language is actually ‘taboo’ in the classroom.

Literature, museums, and national identity; or, why are there so many writers' house museums in Britain?

Writers’ houses constitute the largest and oldest segment of historic house museums dedicated to famous persons in the United Kingdom. Litterateurs tend to ascribe ‘lit houses’ to the ineffable magic of readers’ connections to writers. By contrast, my analysis deploys the analytic of cultural politics to suggest that writers’ house museums can more fully be understood as assertions of national identity. The elision of language with national distinction is subliminal in everyday life, but can be brought to prominence by historicising the nations of the British Isles, and the practice of writing in English.

Enhancing linguistic and cultural proficiency through Chinese children’s literature

This paper addresses the issue of selecting high-quality materials for teaching Chinese to non-native-speaker students. The paper argues that the unique nature of literary texts for children and adolescents written in simple and standard language reflecting the rich social fabric of China make them valuable materials for teaching foreign learners of the modern Chinese language. The special value of these materials to non-native learners lies not only in their linguistic aptness, but also in their informative connection between the modern Chinese language and the history and culture of China. The paper demonstrates how to effectively use these materials in a cooperative Chinese language classroom.

Spinal immobilisaton in pre-hospital and emergency care: A systematic review of the literature

Background: Spinal immobilisation has been a mainstay of trauma care for decades and is based on the premise that immobilisation will prevent further neurological compromise in patients with a spinal column injury. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the evidence related to spinal immobilisation in pre-hospital and emergency care settings. Methods: In February 2015, we performed a systematic literature review of English language publications from 1966 to January 2015 indexed in MEDLINE and Cochrane library using the following search terms: 'spinal injuries' OR 'spinal cord injuries' AND 'emergency treatment' OR 'emergency care' OR 'first aid' AND immobilisation. EMBASE was searched for keywords 'spinal injury OR 'spinal cord injury' OR 'spine fracture AND 'emergency care' OR 'prehospital care'. Results: There were 47 studies meeting inclusion criteria for further review. Ten studies were case series (level of evidence IV) and there were 37 studies from which data were extrapolated from healthy volunteers, cadavers or multiple trauma patients. There were 15 studies that were supportive, 13 studies that were neutral, and 19 studies opposing spinal immobilisation. Conclusion: There are no published high-level studies that assess the efficacy of spinal immobilisation in pre-hospital and emergency care settings. Almost all of the current evidence is related to spinal immobilisation is extrapolated data, mostly from healthy volunteers.

Uncertainty and reluctance in teaching taboo language: a case study of an experienced teacher of English as an additional language

Despite its ubiquitous employment by users of English to achieve authentic communicative goals, taboo language has received little attention in the education literature. Even less focus has been placed on such language in English language teaching - specifically, in teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL). Given the multiplicity of communicative struggles experienced by EAL learners surrounding the use of taboo language in authentic communication, meaningful consideration of this aspect can be seen as crucial in EAL instruction. Classroom learning could prepare learners for navigation and negotiation of taboo language use they will inevitably encounter in social interactions in target language communities of practice. However, EAL teachers' uncertainty or reluctance to introduce taboo language in classroom instruction is a key impediment in developing learners' sociocultural knowledge regarding such language use. We foreground one case of such uncertainty and reluctance surrounding the introduction of taboo language in EAL instruction derived as interview data from an experienced EAL teacher.

English as an additional language teachers, policy enactments and intercultural understanding

The literature on policy enactment identifies the pivotal role played by school leaders and classroom teachers in response to attempts to implement reforms of current practices. An intersection of teachers’ personal and professional domains, such as enactment of National Curriculum priorities that identify intercultural understanding as a cross-curricular general capability embedded across learning areas, invests individual teachers’ attitudes and beliefs with additional significance. As local policy actors at the centre of this policy mix, teachers of EAL are presented with opportunities to play important roles in reconceptualising understandings of difference that resist categorisation and promote intercultural understanding. We argue that teachers’ beliefs and their attitudes to classroom linguistic and cultural diversity may be shaped significantly by their interaction with broader policy discourses, and that these are reflected in enactments—as opposed to implementations—of intercultural understanding policy in classrooms.

What did they expect? Exploring a link between students’ expectations, attendance and attrition on English language enhancement courses

This article reports on and discusses the findings of an investigationcarried out to explore the expectations of an English language enhancementcourse (ELEC) held by a group of undergraduate students at anAustralian university. For the study, a mixed-methods approach was utilised,with two instruments: a survey with a combination of closed- andopen-ended questions and semi-structured interviews. The research wasguided by the following three questions: (1) What do the students expectto learn on the course? (2) How are they developing their expectations?(3) Are the students’ expectations being met? The literature concerningstudent expectations foregrounds the complexity and multi-faceted natureof the concept, the satisfaction of which can impact on student engagement,satisfaction, performance, retention and attrition. Findings showthat the participants’ expectations of the course content and teachingstaff were largely met; nonetheless, a lack of class attendance was notedthroughout. Expectations were reported to have been developed largelythrough consultation with previous students of the course (43 per cent)and information materials provided by the university (42 per cent). Thearticle concludes with a discussion regarding the implications of thefindings for universities and education providers both in Australia andabroad.

‘It don’t mean a thing …’ ‘literary’ language in secondary classrooms

The thesis argues that close reading of literary works can strengthen a grasp of the relationship between words and meaning. It finds an undue emphasis in classrooms on abstracted content at the expense of literary form and concludes that close reading should be restored to the centre of literary education.

Twenty first century literature: opportunities, changes and challenges

Reviews international research that is relevant to the teaching of English, language and literacy. This book locates research within theoretical context, drawing on historical perspectives.