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Benedict Lin

Lecturer in the Division of English, The University of Nottingham Ningbo Campus, Faculty of Arts

Contact

Expertise Summary

I joined the University of Nottingham, Ningbo China in December 2008. I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics, a BA in English and Mathematics, a Dip.Ed. (Distinction), and a Postgraduate Dip.Ed in Applied Linguistics (TESOL) with Distinction - all from institutions in Singapore.

I have extensive practical experience in a wide range of situations in East and Southeast Asia as an English language teacher and language teacher educator. This includes:

19 years as a secondary school teacher of English Language and Literature in Singapore

Teaching postgraduate courses in Applied Linguistics and TESOL for teachers in the Southeast Asia region, and conducting in-service courses for teachers of English in Singapore, at the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization Regional Language Centre (SEAMEO RELC) from 2002-2004

  • Two years (2004-2006) in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at a private university in Nagoya, Japan
  • Teaching general communication skills, academic, scientific and technical writing, and oral presentation skills to undergraduates, postgraduate Engineering students, and faculty members at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2006-2008)
  • Conducting corporate training in professional and technical communication for public and private sector organizations in Singapore for a number of years.

Teaching Summary

Undergraduate

  • The Influence of English

Postgraduate

  • Literary Linguistics
  • The Globalization of English
  • MA Supervision

Research Summary

My research interests in applied linguistics and stylistics (i.e. literary linguistics) are grounded in and motivated by my practical experience as a teacher. Thus, most of my work in text and… read more

Journal articles

Lin, B. (In press). Old Houses, Linguistics and Literature in Schools: What Stylistics Can Offer. In Linguistics & the Human Sciences 3 (2).

Lin, B. (2006). Vygotskian Principles in a Genre-based Approach to Teaching Writing'. Journal of Language, Culture and Communication, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business

Lin, B. (2006). Genre-based Teaching and Vygotskian Principles in EFL: The Case of a University Writing Course. Asian EFL Journal, 8 (3).

Lin, B. (2005). Old Houses, Linguistics and the Relevance of Literature in Singapore: the Stylistic Analysis of One Poem. Journal of Language, Culture and Communication, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business

Lin, B. (2003). English in Singapore: An Insider's Perspective of Syllabus Renewal through a Genre-based Approach. RELC Journal, 34 (2).

Book Chapters

Lin, B. (2006) Exploring the Literary Text through Grammar and the (Re-) Integration of Literature and Language Teaching. In Paran, A. (ed) Literature in Language Teaching. TESOL Case Studies series

Book Reviews

In Journal of Language, Culture and Communication, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, 2006: Mary L. Connerley & Paul B. Pedersen, Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005

In RELC Journal 35/1, April 2004: Block, D. 2003. The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

In RELC Journal 34/2, August 2003: Quayum, M.A. & Wicks, P. (eds) 2002. Singapore Literature in English: A Critical Reader. Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.

In RELC Journal 33/2, December 2002: Nair-Venugopal, S. 2002. Language Choice and Communication in Malaysian Business. Bangi: Penerbit Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Recent papers at Conferences, Workshops & Seminars

Stylistics as an Argument for Literature in Schools and Basis for Pedagogy. Annual Conference of the Poetics and Linguistics Association, Sheffield UK, July 2008.

Maximizing Project-Based Learning for Academic Writing Classes with Multilingual Student Populations. Jointly presented with C Heah. 40th SEAMEO RELC International Seminar, Singapore, April 2008.

Really Useful Grammar for Business English. 8th Asia Pacific Conference of the Association for Business Communication, Nanyang Technological University, March 2008.

Letters to the Press: A Critical Study of Public Service Responses. Discourse & Cultural Practices Conference, University of Technology Sydney, Nov 2007.

How Stylistic Analysis Reveals the Relevance of Local Literature: the Case of One Poem. 2nd SoLLS-Intec Conference, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 2005.

Making SFL Really Useful: Some Thoughts and Ideas. Japan Association of Systemic Functional Linguistics (JASFL) Autumn Conference, Tokyo Gakugei University, September 2005

The Social Relevance of Literature: SFG as a Basis for Argument and Pedagogy. 32nd International Systemic Functional Congress, University of Sydney, July 2005.

Genre-based ELT and Lifelong Learning. Japan Association of Language Teaching (JALT) Pan-SIG Conference, Tokyo Keizai University, May 2005

English as an International Language: What to Teach, How to Teach It and Who to Teach It. SEAMEO-UNESCO Education Congress and Expo, Bangkok, May 2004.

Genre, Grammar and the Teaching of Reading Skills: a Proposed Framework for Comprehensive Reading Instruction. 39th SEAMEO RELC International Seminar, Singapore, April 2004

Beyond Testing Oral Proficiency: Picture Description in the GCE O-level Oral English Examinations and the Relevance of Visual Literacy. 38th SEAMEO RELC International Seminar, Singapore, November 2003.

Realizing the Social Relevance of Literature through Language: the Stylistic Analysis of One Poem. 2nd International Conference on Speech Writing and Context, Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka, August 2003

Syllabus 2001 - a Singaporean perspective on integrating EL learning across levels: what connections with Japan and beyond? Special Lecture at the 41st Japanese Association of College English Teachers (JACET) Annual Convention, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, September 2002

Of Grammar, Text Types and Teaching the Unseen Text in Literature. 37th SEAMEO RELC International Seminar, Singapore, April 2002.

Current Research

My research interests in applied linguistics and stylistics (i.e. literary linguistics) are grounded in and motivated by my practical experience as a teacher. Thus, most of my work in text and discourse analysis is oriented towards educational implications and pedagogical applications, for example, in the area of English language teaching. Working largely within the framework of functional linguistics, my current research includes exploring non-anglophone poetry in English and English translations of Chinese poetry. I also continue to be interested in language and discourse in Science, Engineering and Scientific Education, as well as English and English language teaching in East and Southeast Asia.

School of English

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telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5900
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 5924
email: english-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk