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Dr Lesley Harbon

BA(Sydney), DipEd(Sydney), MEd(UNE), PhD(UTAS)

Associate Dean, International

Email:

Phone: +61 2 9351 2022

Fax: +61 2 9351 2606

Building.Room: A35.627

Research interests

Educational systems: administration, management and leadership

  • International and comparative education

Teaching English to speakers of other languages

  • Languages and cultures education
  • Second language acquisition

Keywords

intercultural languages education, language teacher professional development, immersion languages education


Professional biography

During her university undergraduate career, Lesley added German as a foreign language to her repertoire and then began a teaching career that took her across Australia, teaching Indonesian and German at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Her work with language-teacher education developed through positions she has held since the mid 90s in teacher-education faculties at the universities of Tasmania and Sydney.

For 15 years, until early 1990s, Lesley edited Pelangi, a publication for the teaching and learning of Indonesian in Australian schools published at the University of Southern Queensland Press.

From 2002 until 2006 Lesley edited Babel, the journal of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Assocations. She continues to research in the areas of language-teacher education, intercultural-languages education, bilingual-immersion education and study-abroad short-term programs for language teachers.


Awards

  • Faculty of Education and Social Work Teaching Excellence Award 2008


Professional and community roles

  • President of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA – the national peak body for language teaching in schools)

  • Language education and language-teacher education advisory committees and project teams at state and national level


Current projects

  • The efficacy of study abroad on the development of social and cultural capital in students (with AC Armstrong)
  • Student intercultural-language learning (with R Moloney)
  • Australian language teachers' immersion in-country professional development experiences: extent, scope, nature, outcomes and purposes.

Current research students

Project title Degree Research student
Speaking two languages is a gift: A study exploring how young bilingual students identify with being bilingual. PhD Ruth Fielding
Decentralisation in Indonesian education and the impact on foreign language policy (submitted, awaiting examination) PhD Grace Yuwono
Intercultural dialogue with Indonesian state sector language teacher educators on the epistemology of their practice. PhD Neil England
The development of Chinese reading competence of Taiwanese children studied in an English-only immersion pre-school program. PhD Chien Yi Jan
TBA MEd Manuel Condoleon
Policy of EFL teacher education in Indonesian state Islamic universities. MPhil Abdul Hadi
Strategic kanji learning: An investigation of strategy use, self-regulation and motivational control strategies of Japanese language learners on year-long exchange programs at Japanese Universities. PhD Heath Rose
Scaffolded teacher talk: A study of foreign language teachers’ uses of multiple languages with beginner-level learners. PhD Susan Oguro

Selected publications

Books

  • Paltridge, B., Harbon, L. Hirsh,D., Phakiti, A., Shen, H., Stevenson, M., & Woodrow, L.,. (2009). Teaching academic writing. Ann Arbor, USA: Michigan University Press.
  • Paltridge, B., Harbon, L., Hirsh, D., Phakiti, A., Shen, H., Stevenson, M., & Woodrow, L. (2009). Teaching Academic Writing: An Introduction for Teachers of Second Language Writers. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
  • Harbon, L. (2009). Languages in the Primary School: Teachers' Perceptions of Policy and Practice. Berlin: Verlag Dr Mueller.

Book chapters

  • Paltridge, B & Harbon, L. (2008). Intercultural competency and the international student experience. In J. van Rij-Heyligers (Ed.), Intercultural Communications Across University Settings – Myths and Realities (pp. 55–65), Rosedale, NZ: Pearson Education New Zealand.
  • Paltridge, B, Harbon, L. (2008). Intercultural competency and the international student experience. In van Rij-Heyligers, Josta (Ed.), Intercultural Communications across University Settings: Myths and Realities (pp. 55–65), Rosedale, NZ: Pearson Education New Zealand.
  • Harbon, L. (2007). On the need to mediate culture: do college English textbooks pass the test?. In D.L. Qiu and J. Cai (Eds.), The Explorations and Prospectives for College English Textbooks (pp. 110–131), Shanghai: Fudan University Press.
  • Harbon, L. (2003). Internationalising the curriculum through languages: teachers’ 'in-country' professional development. In A.J. Liddicoat, S. Eisenchlas & S. Trevaskes (Ed.), Australian Perspectives on Internationalising Education (pp. 117–128), Melbourne: Language Australia.
  • Harbon, L. (2002). Languages curriculum policy: teachers’ perceptions of policy Implementation. In V. Crew, C. Davison & B. Mak (Ed.), Reflecting on Language in Education (pp. 195–225), Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Centre for Language in Education.

Journal articles

  • Moloney, R, Harbon, L. (2008). I speak therefore I am: Self-perceptions of identity in immersion program language learners as an expression of intercultural competence. University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, 3, 111–129.
  • Harbon, L. (2008). Chinese students in a 'sea' of change: one teacher's discoveries about Chinese students' learning and emotions through use of song. Evaluation and Research in Education, 21(3), 214–234.
  • Harbon, L. (2008). Chinese students in a ‘sea’ of change: one teacher’s discoveries about Chinese students’ learning and emotions through use of song. Evaluation and Research in Education, 21(3), 214–234.
  • Harbon, L. (2007). Short-term international experiences and teacher language awareness. International Education Journal, 8(1), 229–243.
  • Kohler, M, Harbon, L, Fischmann, V, McLaughlin, M, Liddicoat, A. (2006). Quality teaching: views from the profession. Babel, 40(3), 23–30.
  • Harbon, L, England, N. (2006). The cultural practice of research higher degree supervision over distance: a case in progress. University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, 1(1), 87–107.
  • Harbon, L, Browett, J. (2006). Intercultural languages education: challenges for Australian Teacher Educators. Babel, 41(1), 28–33 / 38.
  • Harbon, L, McGill, M. (2006). Teaching reconceived: Australian teachers re-thinking personal pedagogy within an overseas study program. Internet Journal of Language, Culture and Society , 18, 1–12.

Conference papers

  • Harbon, L. (2006). Innovating with English Cafe in a Korean College English Programs. In Dr Byung-kyoo Ahn Beyond the Horizon: Extending the Paradigm of TEFL (pp. 67–72). Seoul, Korea, 23-24 June 2006.
  • Harbon, L. (2006). Innovating with English Cafe in a Korean College English context. In Dr Byung-kyoo Ahn Beyond the Horizon: Extending the Paradigm of TEFL (pp. 67–72). Seoul, Korea, 23-24 June 2006.
  • Harbon, L, Shen, H. (2006). Australian teachers of languages and cultures: emerging pedagogies in the language classroom using ICT. In Not Known (pp. 1–14). Orchard Hotel, Singapore, 29-31 May 2006.
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