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Dr Ruth Fielding

BEd(Hons)(Sydney), BA(Sydney), PhD(Sydney), GradCert(HigherEd)(Sydney)

Lecturer - Languages Curriculum and TESOL

Curriculum Coordinator Languages (Single Method)

Email:

Phone: +61 2 9351 6241

Fax: +61 2 9351 5027

Building.Room: A35.610

Research interests

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

  • Languages and cultures education
  • Second language acquisition

Keywords

Bilingualism, identity, languages education, intercultural language learning, TESOL


Professional biography

Ruth Fielding is a Lecturer in Languages Education and TESOL. She coordinates the single method Languages Curriculum units within the pre-service teacher education courses and coordinates a unit within the MEd TESOL program. Ruth began her career as a secondary teacher of French and German. She completed her PhD in 2009 in the area of bilingual identity.

Ruth's current research includes researching language and literacy programs for recently arrived school students in Australia; examining bilingual schools in NSW; examining pre-service language teacher education for teaching in a primary school, and examining the transition of language learners from school into university.

Ruth has been involved with language education through the national and State language teacher associations and co-convened the AFMLTA's 17th Conference in Sydney in 2009. She is currently Secretary of the national language teacher association - AFMLTA, and is an executive committee member of the State language teacher association - MLTA NSW.

Ruth teaches and researches in the areas of primary and secondary language education, language teacher education, bilingualism and bilingual identity.


Awards

  • 2011 Faculty of Education and Social Work Excellence in Teaching Award

    2010 Michael Clyne Award for the best postgraduate research thesis in bilingualism and language contact. Awarded jointly by the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) and the Australian Linguistic Society (ALS).

    2008-2009 University Postgraduate Award (UPA) University of Sydney

    2008 Trevor Miller Memorial Fund Award Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. Providing funding to present a paper at AILA Congress, Essen, Germany.

    2007 ALAA Travel Scholarship to present a paper at the ALAA Congress

  • 2013-2014 - IPDF (International Program Development Fund) Grant to examine language and literacy programs for recently arrived learners in Australian schools ($6385).

  • 2011-2012 - Faculty Research Grant - with A/Prof Lesley Harbon ($21,000)

  • 2012 - Teaching Inquiry Grant - with L Harbon and N Steigrad ($6000)

  • 2012 - Early Career Researcher Travel Grant


Professional and community roles

  • Committee member of Modern Language Teachers' Association of NSW Executive (MLTA NSW)

  • Project Coordinator for the Professional Standards Project for Languages (DEEWR)

  • Secretary of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher Associations (AFMLTA)


Current projects

  • Speaking Two Languages is a Gift: A Study exploring how young bilingual students identify with being bilingual. A qualitative study involving students at a NSW public school investigating their attitudes and identities associated with their languages. This project was completed in 2009.
  • Primary Languages Education Research: Examining classroom realities and models of implementation. With A/Prof Lesley Harbon, this project investigates the experiences of pre-service and in-service teachers of primary languages, and investigates the four NSW DEC funded bilingual primary schools for Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean.
  • TIGS Grant - With A/Prof L Harbon and Ms N Steigrad - Investigating the use of Classroom Video Footage with Pre-service Language Teachers.
  • LCNAU (Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities) Grant with A/Prof L Harbon, Prof P Morgan (Faculty of Arts), Dr C Stott (Faculty of Arts) Dr R Moloney (Macquarie University) - “Student pathways in languages education from school to university: attrition and retention” A pilot project exploring student transition in language learning from secondary to tertiary sectors.
  • International Program Development Fund Project 2013-2014 (IPDF): Exploring Language and Literacy Programs for Recently Arrived Children in Australia and the UK.

Current research students

Project title Degree Research student
How do South Korean learners of English perceive their language skills, learning satisfaction and values? The perspective of middle and high school students in Seoul MPhil Jennie Park

Selected publications

Books

  • Laws, K., Harbon, L. & Fielding, R. (Eds.) . (2011). Teacher Professional Development in Southeast Asia: Perspectives from Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.. Sydney: Can Tho University.

Book chapters

  • Fielding, R. (2013). Considering Biliteracy and Multiliteracies in the Primary Classroom. In Johnston, J (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Australian Literacy Teaching (2nd ed., pp. 141–158), Brisbane: AACLM/ Primrose Hall Publishing Group.
  • Fielding, R. (2012). Learning Locally Identifying Globally: Student perspectives about their languages and being bilingual. In Gitsaki, C. & Baldauf, R. (Ed.), The future of applied linguistics: Local and global perspectives. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing..
  • Fielding, R. (2012). Considering Biliteracy and Multiliteracies in the Primary Classroom. In Johnston, J. (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Australian Literacy Teaching Brisbane: AACLM/ Primrose Hall Publishing Group.

Journal articles

  • Fielding, R. (2013). Review: A. Pennycook, Language and Mobility: Unexpected places. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 36(1), 116–119.
  • Fielding, R. (2013). Bilingual Identity Negotiation in practice: Teacher pedagogy and classroom interaction in a bilingual program. Language Learning Journal. DOI:DOI:10.1080/09571736.2012.757635
  • Fielding, R. (2011). "I sort of feel like I'm a part of France aswell" Student perspectives of bilingual identity. Babel, Journal of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher Associations,, 46(1), 13–21.
  • Westwood, R. (2005). What do schools want in a language teacher?. Babel - Journal of the AFMLTA, 40(2), 21–28.
  • Westwood, R. (2004). Review: Hennings Haus. Babel, 39(2), 36–37.

Conference papers

  • Moloney, R., Harbon, L., & Fielding, R. . (2012). Varying the IRE turn: Preservice language teachers adopting an intercultural stance in their pedagogy pp 488-507. . In Aishah M.K., Chan, W.M., Chi, S.W., Chin, K.N., Istanto, J.W., Nagami, M., Sew, J.W., Suthiwan, T., Walker, I. Culture in foreign language learning: Framing and reframing the issue. Singapore: NUS Centre for Language Studies. .
  • Harbon, Fielding, Moloney, Scrimgeour, Kohler, Dashwood & Gearon. (2012). Longtime passing: where does the time for preparing language teachers go?. In LCNAU Colloquium 2011 The Next Step: Introducing the Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities .
  • Fielding, R. & Stott, C. (2012). University Language Learners: Perceptions of the Transition from School to University. In Mortimer, R. The International First Year in Higher Education Conference Proceedings 2012: New Horizons. Brisbane, 26-29 June 2012.
  • Farmer K, Fielding R, Harbon L, & Scarino A . (2011). ‘Building language teachers’ understandings of assessment’. In 18th Biennial AFMLTA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher Associations) Conference. Darwin, 6th - 9th July 2011.
  • Harbon L & Fielding R. (2011). ‘Enriching the primary curriculum with a languages program: But what about the in-school reality?’ . In 18th Biennial AFMLTA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher Associations) Conference. Darwin, 6th - 9th July 2011.
  • Harbon L & Fielding R. (2011). Pre-service Language Teacher Cognition: Developing primary school language teachers' identities.. In Sixth University of Sydney TESOL Research Network Colloquium . University of Sydney, 3 September 2011.
  • Fielding R. (2010). Being Bilingual: A gift and something special – Student views about their languages. In Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) 35th Congress. University of Queensland, Brisbane, July 2010.
  • Fielding, R. (2009). Student Perspectives of Bilingual Identity. In 4th Annual University of Sydney TESOL Research Network Colloquium. University of Sydney, 5th September 2009.
  • Fielding R . (2009). 'Bilingual Education in an Australian Primary School: Student identification with more than one language.' . In Language, Education and Diversity Conference Proceedings. University of Waikato, New Zealand, 21-24 November 2007.
  • Fielding R . (2009). ‘Primary school students’ experiences of intercultural communication’ . In Internationalising Learning and Teaching in Academic Settings Colloquium. University of Sydney, November 2009.
  • Fielding R. (2008). 'The OpShop: 2nd hand or pre-loved? How do primary students in an Australian bilingual program value their languages?' . In AILA 15th World Congress of Applied Linguistics. Essen, Germany, 24th - 29th August 2008.

Other

  • Harbon, L. & Fielding, R. . (2013). Bilingual education programs in four primary schools in New South Wales, 2009-2012: A report to continue the conversation, Sydney.
  • Fielding R. (2009). ‘Speaking More Than Two Languages is a Gift: The Discourse of Bilingual Identity’ , Dialogue Discourse Diversity – 17th Biennial AFMLTA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher Associations) Conference, Sydney, 9th-12th July 2009.
  • Westwood, R. (2006). What do schools really want in a language teacher?, Teacher: The National Education Magazine Issue 168 pp38-44.
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