Introduction

It has long been observed that conducting research in the areas of teaching and language education and related fields is highly beneficial to the learning and teaching enterprise. Rigorous and impactful research can inform sound language and teaching practices and vice-versa. One of the current initiatives for the Language Centre is for it to develop and strengthen its pedagogical research capacity and areas of expertise.

In order to provide additional research support for colleagues, the Language Centre has established an International Research Advisors scheme, through which expert advisors will be invited to provide comments on research/grant proposals, assist in different stages of research/scholarly activities and/or be actively involved in research projects as co-investigators or research team members.

Aims of the International Research Advisors (IRA) Scheme

• To provide up-to-date information on current research, sound practices and initiatives for benchmarking against international standards;
• To assist staff in the Language Centre to maximize the chance of their projects/grants being funded by providing relevant feedback and recommendations;
• To provide staff in the Language Centre with guidelines for the identification of appropriate research projects/grants which can facilitate students’ language learning at the University; and
• To help strengthen the pedagogical research capacity of the Language Centre.

Current International Research Advisors

• Professor Jack Richards
  Honorary Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia; The University of Auckland, New Zealand
  [ Details ]
  

  Born in New Zealand, Professor Richards obtained a Master of Arts degree with first class honours in English from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1966. He obtained his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Laval University (a French-Language University) in Quebec City, Canada in 1972. He has worked in many parts of the world, including New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States. After completing his PhD, he taught in Indonesia and was then appointed specialist in applied linguistics at the Regional Language Centre Singapore, under the auspices of the New Zealand Government. Later he was Senior Lecturer in English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, before being appointed full professor in the Department of English as a Second Language at the University of Hawaii in 1981. In 1989 he returned to Hong Kong to set up a new department of English at the City University of Hong Kong, where he was head of the department of English and also chair professor. In 1996 he returned to his home country for two years to set up an MA program at the University of Auckland. In 1999 Professor Richards retired from full-time university teaching and administration and since then has taught for part of each year at the Regional Language Centre (RELC), in Singapore, while making his primary residence in Sydney, Australia. At RELC, Professor Richards teaches in the MA in Applied Linguistics program, as well as the RELC Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics.

  
  
• Professor Martin Guardado
  Professor and Director, English Language School, University of Alberta, Canada
  [ Details ]

  Professor Guardado is an applied linguist investigating language socialization and literacy practices within immigrant communities in Canada, with a particular focus on the development and maintenance of heritage languages. Additionally, his research has examined English as a Second Language (ESL) students’ experiences of online peer feedback on writing, the use of podcasting in ESL classes in the Chinese community of Edmonton and is currently working on a project to investigate Task-Based Language Teaching in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes. Among other projects at different stages of development, Professor Guardado is collaborating on an initiative to study the experiences of internationally trained professionals in a career mentorship program in Edmonton, Canada. Professor Guardado started his career in education as a teaching assistant in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1982. Since that time, he has taught ESL/EFL to all levels and age groups in the United States, El Salvador and Canada. He has also taught public school teachers, student teachers, graduate students, and international students in community colleges and universities both in El Salvador and in Canada. He obtained a secondary school teaching diploma and a B. A. (honours) in TEFL from Universidad Francisco Gavidia in El Salvador, a TESOL in-service Diploma from Vancouver Community College, a Masters in TESL, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from The University of British Columbia.

  
  
  
• Dr Chengzhi Chu (儲誠志)
  Associate Professor of Chinese, Chinese Language Program Coordinator, Faculty of the Graduate Group in Linguistics, University of California, Davis, the United States
  [ Details ]

  Dr Chu is an Associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Davis. He has published many articles as well as books and software programs in the areas of Chinese linguistics, cognitive semantics, and Chinese L2 pedagogy and acquisition. 儲誠志，夏威夷大學博士，美國加州大學大衛斯分校副教授、中文部主任、語言學習中心代主任、語言學系博士生導師；加州中文教師學會會長、美國中文教師學會副會長；加州大學伯克利分校、中山大學等十餘家大學和研究機構的學術委員會委員/顧問，華南師範大學國際文化學院客座教授；《國際漢語教育》等多份期刊編委，《全球華語大辭典》北美組主持人。在北京語言學院、斯坦福大學等高校執教多年。在漢語語言學（語法、詞彙、漢字、方言）、認知語義學、語料庫語言學、漢語作為第二語言的教學與習得，以及電腦教學等領域發表論文、教材和軟體計數十種，同時也是《漢語仲介語語料庫系統》和《中文助教》軟體的研究主持人，大型中文分級泛讀系列叢書《漢語風》的主設計與共同主編。