Overview
Language Learning through the Looking Glass: The adventure begins
Professor Dr. Andrew Lian
One of the great benefits of working with technology in language-learning is that it encourages us to think differently about the field thereby enriching our research horizons. Such enrichment is of critical importance as we struggle to improve the language-learning performances of countries in the Asian region. As this struggle continues, it is becoming increasingly clear that the problem we face is not one of language or linguistics, but that of learning theory and its countless challenges. This presentation will quickly touch upon this issue as a point of departure and then describe some novel research in language learning theory originating in the Asia-Pacific region and, especially, in Suranaree University of Technology. Connected topics to be explored briefly include personalization and individualization of learning through Rhizomatic and Self-Organizing Learning Environments (SOLEs), Verbotonal theory, Precision Language Education, and the nexus between Neuroscience and Learning. We will also glance at the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence in these areas and attempt to map a path forward for language education to the extent that we are able to make predictions about the future.
Biodata
Professor Dr Andrew Lian is Professor of Foreign Language Studies in the School of Foreign Languages at Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand; Adjunct Professor, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam; Professor Emeritus, University of Canberra, Australia. He is also President of AsiaCALL (the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning) and President of ICTE (the International Conference of TESOL and Education). He specializes in developing frameworks for learning foreign/second languages and has had a special and ongoing interest in the uses of modern technology to enhance language learning since the late 1970s. He is one of the pioneers of modern Technology-Enhanced language learning in Australia. Prior to moving to Thailand, he had been Professor and Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Western Illinois University, USA; Professor of Humanities and Director of the Center for the Study of Languages at Rice University, USA; and Professor and Head of the School of Languages and International Education at the University of Canberra in Australia. He has held further Professorial leadership positions in James Cook University and Bond University, Australia. His current research interests include neuroscience, perception and cerebral lateralization as they relate to language learning as well as self-adjusting and self-organizing (language/culture-) learning systems based on rhizomatic principles (including the generation of personalized learning environments). Professor Lian has published extensively and delivered many keynote addresses nationally and internationally and is on the editorial board of several international peer-reviewed journals.