Australian Review of Applied Linguistics - Volume 48, Issue 1, 2025

Abstract

This paper explores ways in which applied semantics (coming out of Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach) can inform effective communicative strategies for action on climate change. After framing discussion, it presents three case studies, which are intentionally disparate in nature: contrastive semantics of the expressions ‘climate crisis’, ‘climate emergency’, and ‘climate catastrophe’; a semantically-enhanced examination of how public inquiries into extreme weather events help shape climate discourse in Australia; the semantics of ‘the economy’ in everyday English and the implications for climate change discourse. We argue that climate action communication is clearer, more resonant, and more effective when it uses or builds on ordinary words and local meanings.

Abstract

The present study investigates L1 and L2 English speakers’ knowledge of the wh-clausal construction along the parameters of (a) conventionality, distinguishing between high-frequency conventional and low-frequency unconventional formulations (I asked him why they agreed/why did they agree), and (b) proposition type, differentiating between interrogative versus non-interrogative proposition types (I asked / told him why they agreed). We also consider the extent to which L2 speakers’ constructional knowledge is influenced by learners’ target language experience, such as L2 proficiency, context of L2 learning (ESL or EFL), and target language exposure. Results from a judgment task revealed nuances in L1-L2 discriminatory capacities, and more importantly, differences in sensitivity to proposition type between the ESL and EFL group, but no L2 differences in sensitivity to conventionality. L2 proficiency, speakers’ length of target immersion experience, and classroom exposure were shown to also impact linguistic sensitivity, highlighting a moderating effect of target language exposure and an important role for classroom instruction.

Abstract

Parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) need clear and complete information about early intervention options. There is a body of research on parents’ reactions to, and perceptions of, information they encountered following their child’s diagnosis, but little research examining the information itself. This paper reports on a research project examining the evaluative meanings of information on the websites of the two early intervention providers in NSW, Australia. Both providers describe their services as “family-centered” on their websites. The appraisal framework from systemic functional linguistics was used to analyze each website. Specifically, evaluations regarding the ‘capacity’ of providers and D/HH children are reported here. Providers are consistently evaluated as altruistic and expert, while D/HH children are consistently evaluated as requiring the specific kind of intervention program offered by these organizations in order to live a “normal” or “successful” life. Coupled with the lack of information about alternative approaches to early intervention, the information provided appears to be inconsistent with principles of family-centered intervention.

Abstract

The shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a learning experience for educators. While online learning is not new, the sudden loss of familiar cues has highlighted challenges for learners and teachers. This paper focuses on the significance of language in virtual classrooms in an Australian university in the narrative accounts elicited from five educators. The analysis drew on notions of activity types (Levinson, 1979), the dramaturgic self (Goffman, 1959), and learning as a reciprocal, meaning-making, and interpretive process (Scarino, 2014). The findings demonstrate that the participants responded to the challenges and possibilities they encountered by developing ways of rethinking self, presence, and participation in interaction with learners. We argue that this process involves an intercultural orientation to teaching and learning in online settings that is key to reflective practice, relationships of trust and shared understandings in teaching, learning, and knowing, well beyond the pandemic.

Abstract

In 2012, the White Paper Australia in the Asian Century urged governments across Australia to improve access to Asian studies in schools. Despite this, schools still struggle to maintain interest and success for secondary students, particularly those without an Asian family background. In response to the low numbers of non-Chinese-background students graduating from secondary schools with proficiency in Chinese language, the Victorian government launched a new Chinese Language, Culture, and Society subject in 2017. This study focuses on the teaching of this subject, which is taken in the last two years of secondary schooling during the pre-tertiary Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). Drawing upon interview data with administrators, teachers and students during the first years of its implementation, the article presents the views and challenges of stakeholders involved in this subject and argues that the inherent limitations of the VCE system will make it difficult for the new subject to achieve its stated aims.

Abstract

This paper uses a thematic narrative analysis approach to explore the experiences of individuals who support those living with literacy gaps in Australia. Themes of collective shame and responsibility surrounding adult literacy gaps, as well as the communicative expertise and critical reflexivity developed by supporters in their roles, are prominent in their narratives. As part of a more extensive study that also explored the experiences of people living with literacy gaps, the findings of this paper highlight the need for more research into this area, particularly underscoring the importance of including first-hand accounts from those directly impacted by literacy gaps and recognizing adult literacy supporters as a unique population.

This article reviews Linguistic intermarriage in Australia: Between pride and shame978-3-030-27511-2