CONSTRUCTION GRAMMAR AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

This paper begins by noting that disappointments have been expressed with the communicative approach to language teaching, before discussing a number of problems involved in its implementation. This leads to the question of how English language teaching can attend to grammatical form, but without sacrificing the focus on communicative function. The paper then points to a convergence between strands of research in both theoretical and applied linguistics. In theoretical linguistics, the increasing prominence of ‘construction grammars’ resonates nicely with recent suggestions that ‘lexical phrases’ or ‘formulaic sequences’ should be given greater focus in language teaching. The rest of the paper goes on to consider the pedagogical value of the notion of a construction. Keywords:   Communicative approach, construction grammar, formulaic language, workplace communicatio

Construction Grammar and English Language Teaching

This paper begins by noting that disappointments have been expressed with the communicative approach to language teaching, before discussing a number of problems involved in its implementation. This leads to the question of how English language teaching can attend to grammatical form, but without sacrificing the focus on communicative function. The paper then points to a convergence between strands of research in both theoretical and applied linguistics. In theoretical linguistics, the increasing prominence of ‘construction grammars\u27 resonates nicely with recent suggestions that ‘lexical phrases\u27 or ‘formulaic sequences\u27 should be given greater focus in language teaching. The rest of the paper goes on to consider the pedagogical value of the notion of a construction

Verbal Prefixation in Malay: Reconfiguring Paradigmatic Relations

Proceedings of the Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: General Session and Parasession on Historical Issues in Sociolinguistics/Social Issues in Historical Linguistics (1995

The Semantic Development of Ter-

Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: General Session Dedicated to the Contributions of Charles J. Fillmore (1994

Social Integration through Practice and Socialisation: A Study of the Labour Movement in Singapore

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

In silico-guided sequence modifications of K-ras epitopes improve immunological outcome against G12V and G13D mutant KRAS antigens

Background: Somatic point substitution mutations in the KRAS proto-oncogene primarily affect codons 12/13 where glycine is converted into other amino acids, and are highly prevalent in pancreatic, colorectal, and non-small cell lung cancers. These cohorts are non-responsive to anti-EGFR treatments, and are left with non-specific chemotherapy regimens as their sole treatment options. In the past, the development of peptide vaccines for cancer treatment was reported to have poor AT properties when inducing immune responses. Utilization of bioinformatics tools have since become an interesting approach in improving the design of peptide vaccines based on T- and B-cell epitope predictions. Methods: In this study, the region spanning exon 2 from the 4th to 18th codon within the peptide sequence of wtKRAS was chosen for sequence manipulation. Mutated G12V and G13D K-ras controls were generated in silico, along with additional single amino acid substitutions flanking the original codon 12/13 mutations. IEDB was used for assessing human and mouse MHC class I/II epitope predictions, as well as linear B-cell epitopes predictions, while RNA secondary structure prediction was performed via CENTROIDFOLD. A scoring and ranking system was established in order to shortlist top mimotopes whereby normalized and reducing weighted scores were assigned to peptide sequences based on seven immunological parameters. Among the top 20 ranked peptide sequences, peptides of three mimotopes were synthesized and subjected to in vitro and in vivo immunoassays. Mice PBMCs were treated in vitro and subjected to cytokine assessment using CBA assay. Thereafter, mice were immunized and sera were subjected to IgG-based ELISA. Results: In silico immunogenicity prediction using IEDB tools shortlisted one G12V mimotope (68-V) and two G13D mimotopes (164-D, 224-D) from a total of 1,680 candidates. Shortlisted mimotopes were predicted to promote high MHC-II and -I affinities with optimized B-cell epitopes. CBA assay indicated that: 224-D induced secretions of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12p70, and IL-21; 164-D triggered IL-10 and TNF-α; while 68-V showed no immunological responses. Specific-IgG sera titers against mutated K-ras antigens from 164-D immunized Balb/c mice were also elevated post first and second boosters compared to wild-type and G12/G13 controls. Discussion: In silico-guided predictions of mutated K-ras T- and B-cell epitopes were successful in identifying two immunogens with high predictive scores, Th-bias cytokine induction and IgG-specific stimulation. Developments of such immunogens are potentially useful for future immunotherapeutic and diagnostic applications against KRAS(+) malignancies, monoclonal antibody production, and various other research and development initiatives

Cartographic mismatches and language policy: the case of Hindi in Singapore

In this paper, we present Singapore’s language policy as a case of flexible responsiveness to demographic and societal shifts as a result of high migration. The particular need to accommodate the enhanced linguistic diversity among the linguistically heterogeneous Indians, previously served by Tamil, has led to the ‘semiofficial’ representation of Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, and Urdu in the language policy in recent years. Notwithstanding the choices, a majority of the target Indians prefer Hindi over the familial languages as the national status of Hindi in India better meets the multilingual aspirations of transmigrants with uncertain itineraries. The language choices of Indian parents indicate that language values derive from the range of mobility (e.g., translocal or transnational) that languages have promoted or are perceived to help chart in the future. Adopting the metaphor of cartographies of language used by Park (2014), we suggest that these cartographic perceptions pose a challenge to language policies. We attribute the cartographic mismatches between policy and individual goals to distinctions between language valuations. Through an analysis of school enrolment data and ethnographic interviews, we suggest that language in education decisions of transmigrant populations are mediated through valuations of languages that allow the widest radius of mobility across multiple sites rather than attachments to linguistic, ethnic, or national communities.Accepted versio

Diversity management and the presumptive universality of categories: the case of the Indians in Singapore

10.1080/14664208.2018.1503386Current Issues in Language Planning20116-3

Language education policy - Singapore

This chapter traces the history and developments of the language policy of Singapore over the years. Tracing the history of the education policy through the years since the founding of Singapore, it explains how the language policy has played an integral role in government initiatives for economic, social, and national development. It details that the policy of English-mother tongue bilingualism has helped maintain Singapore’s cultural and linguistic pluralism without hindering the construction of an overarching Singaporean identity or global competitiveness. Finally, discussing some of the policy responses to previous challenges, the chapter deliberates future dilemmas related to previous policy measures as well as migration driven demographic shifts.Submitted/Accepted versio