ELIS Podcast: Recent Episodes
English Language Institute of Singapore
Are you an English language educator? Discover ideas, strategies and research on English Language teaching, learning and assessment through podcasts produced by the English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS). For show notes and links to resources visit our website at: go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this special episode, Professor Tommy Koh and Professor Kishore Mahbubani are in conversation with Dr Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, on the future of English in Singapore. With their extensive experiences as prominent diplomats, educators and effective communicators, they offer their views on the future of English in Singapore; what it means for our students and Singaporeans to be effective communicators in a technology-driven world; and what it takes to grow effective communicators.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Dr Christine Goh, NTU President's Chair Professor in Education, English Language and Literature Department, National Institute of Education, NTU; Miss Margaret Teo, Senior Teacher of English Language at Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School; and Mr Colin Sim, Head of Department for English Language and Literature at Yusof Ishak Secondary School. Christine, Margaret and Colin explore with Mr Cedric Leong, Principal Master Teacher, the question: “Is metacognition more than reflection?”. They discuss how metacognitive processing can be encouraged and made audible and visible in the pre-, while-, and post-phases of lessons in the English Language classroom. They also explore practical approaches and strategies for building the metacognitive ability of students as they perform language tasks in the various areas of language learning, and how these can be supported and enhanced through the use of EdTech and AI.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Sally Ann Jones, Senior Lecturer with the English Language and Literature Department of the National Institute of Education, Renee Yuanna Sulaiman, Senior Teacher of English Language at Punggol Primary School, and Andre Wong, Teacher of English Language at Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School. Sally, Renee and Andre speak with Cedric Leong, Principal Master Teacher, about Metacognition as a pedagogical emphasis of the English Language Syllabus 2020. They explore the characteristics of classrooms that emphasise metacognition, the teacher's role in building metacognitive awareness, and practical strategies for fostering a culture of metacognition in English Language teaching, learning and assessment.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In Part 1 of this episode, ’Using Reader Roles to Develop Students as Critical Readers’, we feature Ms Han Siu Yin, Head of Department, English Language, Ms Christine Lam and Ms Jasvinder Kaur, English Language Teachers, from School of Science and Technology, Singapore. They talk to Dr Caroline Ho, Lead Specialist (ELIS), about their classroom inquiry project which explored the use of reader roles to develop students as critical readers.
For full show notes, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In part 2 of this episode, ‘Learning from Classroom Inquiry at School of Science and Technology: EL Teachers’ Experiences and Insights’, we feature Ms Han Siu Yin, Head of Department, English Language, Ms Christine Lam and Ms Jasvinder Kaur, English Language Teachers, from School of Science and Technology, Singapore. They talk to Dr Caroline Ho, Lead Specialist (ELIS), about their classroom inquiry experiences, how they support their colleagues in the English department, and offer advice for teachers looking to embark on their own classroom inquiry journeys.
For full show notes, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Melody Heng, Teacher/English Language, and Jerome Lim, Subject Head/Literature. They are teachers who keenly practise Inquiry through Dialogue (ItD) in their classrooms. Melody and Jerome speak with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, about their classroom enactment of ItD in the teaching and learning of grammar, and its impact on their students’ learning and language use.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Patrick Sum, Year Head and Teacher/General Paper; Tina Sajnani, Lead Teacher/Literature; and Edwin Pang, Senior Teacher/English Language. They are passionate teacher practitioners of Inquiry through Dialogue (ItD) in their classrooms. Patrick, Tina and Edwin speak with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, about their practice of ItD in the teaching of writing and representing, and its impact on their students’ learning.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, English Language Senior Teacher Mr David Ng talks to Dr Alison Tan, Lead Specialist/EL, about his classroom inquiry project which addressed mixed-case letter identification difficulty among his lower primary students.
For full show notes, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, English Language Teacher Ms Zalena Aman from Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) talks to Dr Jeanne Ho, Deputy Director Special Projects (ELIS), about her classroom inquiry project which explored the use of Socratic Circles to engage students in poetry discussions.
For full show notes, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about how we can report what others say in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode of Effective Communication for Learning, your host Darren Nonis, talks with Dr Alison Tan, Lead Specialist, ELIS, about subject literacy – what it is and the important implications it has for teaching and learning.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode of Effective Communication, your host Darren Nonis, talks with Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, about effective communication for learning across the curriculum and what this means for the English medium subject classroom.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Csilla Weninger, Associate Professor and Head of the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education. Csilla speaks with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher about the building of Multiliteracies, one of the key Pedagogical Emphases in ELS2020. They discuss why it is important to build multiliteracies in EL classrooms; the relationship between multiliteracies and digital literacy; and how teachers can incorporate digital literacy into the building of multiliteracies in EL classrooms to nurture future-ready learners.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Victor Lim Fei, Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, English Language and Literature Academic Group, and Grace Yang, Subject Head/Educational Support at Yio Chu Kang Primary School. Victor and Grace speak with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher about the building of multiliteracies in students. Multiliteracies is one of the key Pedagogical Emphases in ELS2020. They discuss the value of multiliteracies on students’ learning, the challenges of building multiliteracies and how teachers can enact the practice of multiliteracies in their classrooms.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of tenses when linking ideas and clauses in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of subordinating conjunctions in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of coordinating conjunctions in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature James Koh, Master Teacher and Stephanie Hua, Head of Department. They are Teacher Leaders who are deeply interested in the practice of Inquiry through Dialogue (ItD) in their classrooms. James and Stephanie speak with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher about why they value ItD, how they enact ItD in their lessons, and the impact ItD has on their students’ learning.
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about giving commands and instructions in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the formation of questions and answers in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Peter Chutatape, a Lead Teacher of EL at the primary level, and Felicia Ng, who teaches EL at the secondary level. They are educators who share a deep belief in the value of Inquiry through Dialogue (ItD) in the teaching of reading and viewing. Peter and Felicia speak with Cedric, Principal Master Teacher, about how ItD can support the teaching of reading and viewing and how they design and enact dialogic talk in lessons to teach reading and viewing.
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of modal verbs in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about tense sequence in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of tenses in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of subject-verb agreement in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, English Language teacher Miss N Selvakumari talks about her classroom inquiry project looking into teaching descriptive words to support students’ narrative writing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of subject-verb agreement in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of verbs with prepositions in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, English Language teacher Miss Malinda Lim talks about her classroom inquiry project looking into using drama techniques to improve student writing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of active and stative verbs in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, two Teacher Leaders, Nora Misnari and Yusnita Mohamed Taib, reflect on their classroom inquiry which looked into the teaching of reading and viewing. They discuss the data they collected on the of reading strategy instruction on students and describe the impact of the classroom inquiry on their learning and practice.
In this episode, two Teacher Leaders, Peter Chutatape and Sanmuga Malar, reflect on their classroom inquiry which looked into the teaching of oracy. They discuss their insights into the effect of using talk moves during classroom discussions.
In this episode, four Teacher Leaders, Nora Misnari, Peter Chutatape, Sanmuga Malar and Yusnita Mohamed Taib, recount how they started a classroom inquiry by identifying the learning needs of the teachers and their students.
Listen to the alumni of the Singapore Writing Institute, Sudhesh Vasu Dash and Khoo Lilin, speak about their experiences as teacher leaders and how they have led and inspired their colleagues in the teaching of Writing and Representing. You will also listen to Tay May Yin and Darren Nonis from ELIS, who together with Sudhesh and Lilin, discuss how teacher leaders can build a community of shared practice and support others in improving the teaching, learning and assessment of Writing and Representing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of transitive and intransitive verbs in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
This two-part episode features Fabriz Tong, an English Language teacher at Valour Primary School who attended ELIS’s Classroom Inquiry for EL and Literature Teachers course in 2021. Fabriz talks with Dr Caroline Ho, a Lead Specialist from ELIS, about his classroom inquiry project on the effectiveness of annotation to enhance students’ critical reading and inference skills.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
In this episode, we feature Bernice Xu, who teaches English Language and Literature. Together with Cedric Leong, Principal Master Teacher, Bernice offers perspectives on why Multiliteracies is important for student learning and how Multiliteracies to teach grammar and vocabulary can be enacted in English Language classrooms.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
This two-part episode features Fabriz Tong, an English Language teacher at Valour Primary School who attended ELIS’s Classroom Inquiry for EL and Literature Teachers course in 2021. Fabriz talks with Dr Caroline Ho, a Lead Specialist from ELIS, about his classroom inquiry project on the use of annotation to enhance students’ critical reading and inference skills.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
We feature Yasila Vetri, Lead Teacher, who has been in service for almost 30 years. Yasila speaks with Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, and Florence Lee, Master Teacher, about what the teaching of critical reading involves and why developing critical reading skills is important for our learners.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
This two-part series features Sharon Ng, an English Language teacher at Chung Cheng High School (Main) who attended ELIS’s Classroom Inquiry for EL and Literature Teachers course in 2021. Sharon talks about her classroom inquiry project on fluency in oral communication with Dr Caroline Ho, a Lead Specialist from ELIS.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
This two-part series features Sharon Ng, an English Language teacher at Chung Cheng High School (Main) who attended ELIS’s Classroom Inquiry for EL and Literature Teachers course in 2021. Sharon talks about her classroom inquiry project on fluency in oral communication with Dr Caroline Ho, a Lead Specialist from ELIS.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to the alumni of the Singapore Writing Institute, Rafeah Yahya and Angelina Tang, speak about their experiences as teacher writers and how their experiences influenced their teaching of writing. You will also listen to Audrey Lee and Eunice Lim from ELIS, who together with Rafeah and Angelina, discuss how teachers can move student writers forward in their writing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of pronouns in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about adjectives that are formed from verbs in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, highlights the critical role of the English Language teacher in the teaching and learning of English Language in Singapore from the 1950s to the present.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, highlights the knowledge and understanding that teachers of English Language from the 1950s to the present must have for the teaching and learning of English Language.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of collective nouns in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, highlights the importance of oracy development and how it has continued to be emphasised in the teaching and learning of English Language in Singapore from the 1950s to the present.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of the definite and indefinite articles in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, gives an overview of the key focus and emphases in the teaching and learning of English Language in Singapore from the 1950s to the present.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to Dr Paul Doyle, Deputy Director, Research, talk about the use of singular and plural nouns, and countable and uncountable nouns in this episode of Grammar Matters.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to the alumni of the Singapore Writing Institute, Choo Ruofei and Grace Wang, speak about their experiences as teacher inquirers and how their experiences influenced their teaching of writing. You will also listen to Serene Lai and Audrey Ang from ELIS, who together with Grace and Ruofei, discuss why nurturing voice in students’ writing is important.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Serene Lai, Master Teacher, discusses the place of Multiliteracies in the context of teaching writing and representing in English Language classrooms.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
We feature Dorothy Chua, Lead Teacher, who has had 22 years of experience teaching General Paper. In this episode, Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher, and Dorothy Chua talk about how teachers can enable their students to think about their own thinking in the process of writing and representing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Jeyalaxmy Ayaduray discusses the meaning of Multiliteracies in the context of teaching reading and viewing in English Language classrooms.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to the alumni of the Singapore Writing Institute, Shanti Prakash and Richard Koh, speak about their experiences as a teacher writer and how their experiences influenced their teaching of writing. You will also listen to Rita Pillai and Victoria Ong discuss why writing with your students is important.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Principal Master Teacher Tay May Yin gives an overview of Inquiry Through Dialogue in the English Language Classroom. For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
To read the ‘Monograph on 50 Years of Developments in English Language Teaching and Learning in Singapore’ mentioned in this episode, please visit go.gov.sg/50years
English Language teachers Mrs Crescendra Chong-Tan, Miss Lydia Teo and Mdm Shanni Kaur talk about their experience of conducting a classroom inquiry to investigate their students’ reading strategies.
Find out more about the ELIS Podcast at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Kalpana talks about how English Language teachers can enable their students to think about their own thinking in the process of reading and viewing.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to this summary of the paper entitled ‘The role of vocabulary in reading comprehension: The case of secondary school students learning English in Singapore’. This paper was written by Lawrence Jun Zhang and Suaini Bin Anual and was published in 2008 in the RELC Journal.
To find out more about the ELIS Podcast, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to this summary of the paper entitled ‘Predicting Singapore students’ achievement goals in their English study: Self-construal and classroom goal structure’. This paper was written by Wenshu Luo, David Hogan and Scott Paris, and was published in 2011 in the Learning and Individual Differences Journal.
To find out more about the ELIS Podcast, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to this summary of the paper entitled ‘Strategy knowledge and perceived strategy use: Singaporean students’ awareness of listening and speaking strategies’. This paper was written by Donglan Zhang and Christine Goh and was published in 2006 in the Language Awareness Journal.
To find out more about the ELIS Podcast, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to this summary of the book entitled ‘Academic conversations: Classroom talk that fosters critical thinking and content understandings’. This book was written by Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford and was published in 2011 by Stenhouse Publishers.
To find out more about the ELIS Podcast, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Listen to this summary of the paper entitled ‘Children’s talk and the development of reasoning in the classroom’. This paper was written by Neil Mercer, Rupert Wegerif and Lyn Dawes, and was published in 1999 in the British Educational Research Journal.
To find out more about the ELIS Podcast, visit go.gov.sg/elispodcast
EL teacher Mrs Adeline Teo talks about how her team communicated their classroom inquiry findings, as well as advice and tips they have for other teachers.
Find out more about the ELIS Podcast at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
EL teacher Mrs Adeline Teo talks about her team’s classroom inquiry findings and their implications for teaching and learning.
Find out more about the ELIS Podcast at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
EL teacher Mrs Adeline Teo talks about how her team selected their participants and what data they collected for their classroom inquiry.
Find out more about the ELIS Podcast at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Curious about conducting classroom inquiry? EL teacher Mrs Adeline Teo talks about what moved her team to action and their research question.
Find out more about the ELIS Podcast at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Shakila Vasu discusses the meaning of Multiliteracies in the context of teaching listening and speaking in English Language classrooms.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Principal Master Teacher Tay May Yin gives an overview of Multiliteracies in the English Language Classroom.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Jennifer Lui talks about how English Language teachers can enable their students to think about their own thinking in the process of learning and using grammar.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Emelyn Kuan talks about how English Language teachers can enable their students to think about their own thinking when learning to develop their listening and speaking skills.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Principal Master Teacher Cedric Leong gives an overview of Metacognition in the English Language Classroom.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Dr Tay May Yin, Principal Master Teacher of the English Language Institute of Singapore, talks about what is at the heart of General Paper teaching, learning and assessment.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Joy Lee explains why it is important to facilitate learning-focused interaction through collaborative learning groups.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Rita Pillai discusses how she uses Inquiry Through Dialogue to involve students in the writing process and enjoy it.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher Audrey Lee talks about using questioning techniques to guide students to develop critical thinking skills in the English Language Classroom.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast
Master Teacher William Grosse shares his thoughts on Inquiry Through Dialogue in the English Language Classroom.
For full show notes, visit our website at go.gov.sg/elispodcast