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Dr. Sean Devitt

Fellow Emeritus (Education)

 sdevitt@tcd.ie

 


Biography

Born Dublin 11/11/1939 of parents who were both teachers, third of four sons. Married to Ann Downer August 1966. Three children, Séamus (born Paris, May 1968), Marie (born Dublin November 1970), Ann (born Dublin February 1974). Interests: opera, golf, bridge. Lived for two years in Paris, 1966 to 1968, including the period of les évènements de soixante-huit. Favourite city: Paris.

Research Tags

  Classroom Instruction   Design of Pedagogical Materials   Educational Testing/Measurement   E-Learning   English as a Second Language   Foreign Languages Education   French course design, teaching materials development, programme evaluation   French Language/Literature   Language acquisition   Language Acquisition (first & second)   Language Arts Education   LANGUAGES   Linguistics   Literacy   Reading in a first & second language   Second language acquisition, socio-cultural and psychological aspects   SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS   Teacher Education   TENSE AND MODALITY   TIME

Representations

Details Date
Member of the Board of Directors of Integrate Ireland Language and Learning 2002 - present
Trinity College representative on European Language Council 1997 to present

Languages

Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
French Fluent Fluent Fluent
German Medium Basic Basic
Irish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Italian Fluent Medium Basic
Latin Fluent Medium Basic
Spanish Medium Basic Basic

Memberships

Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies

Details Date From Date To
Member of Transnational Project no. 6 (Bilingual Education and Teacher Training) of the European Language Council 1997 2003
Member of the Academic Committee of the Advisory Council for English Language Schools 1998 present
Member of the Executive Committee of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics 1999 present
Secretary of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL) 2004 2005
Ann Devitt, Sean Devitt, Marita Kerin and Elizabeth Oldham, Back to school: how becoming a reflective learner impacts on practice, European Conference on Educational Research 2011, Berlin, Germany, 13-16 September 2011, 2011, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Devitt, Seán , TCD.zip (Longitudinal data from five children learning French as a second language in France) on CHILDES website http://talkbank.org/data/SLA/ (ISBN 1596422629) , 2005, -, Notes: [Longitudinal data from five children learning French as a second language in France; transcripts of recordings, with morphological analysis of learners' output], Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED  URL
Le Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues et les recherches sur l'acquisition des langues L1+n in, editor(s)J-C. Beacco, S. Bouquet, R. Porquier , Niveaux B2 pour le Français : Textes et références , Paris, Didier, 2004, pp9 - 16, [Devitt, Seán ], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Teacher development in the light of SLA research in, editor(s)D. Little, J. Ridley, & E. Ushioda , Learner autonomy in the foreign language classroom: Learner, teacher, curriculum, and assessment , Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 2003, pp107 - 121, [ Devitt, Seán], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Devitt, Seán , Content and reading in the CLIL classroom, 2003, -, Notes: [Section of the Advanced Level Programme in Multilingual Education (ALPME) proposals for teacher education for content teaching through a foreign language. The section is made up mostly of Powerpoint presentations in the area of reading and vocabulary learning], Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED  URL
Guidance to teachers and learners in, editor(s)J.L.M.Trim , The Common European Framework of reference for language learning and teaching: A Guide for Users, Strasbourg, Council of Europe, 2002, pp73 - 100, [Devitt, Seán ], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Devitt, Seán , Review of Language processing and second language development: processability theory, by M. Pienemann, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, Review of Language processing and second language development: processability theory, by M. Pienemann , System, 28, 2000, p455-460 , Review, PUBLISHED
Using pedagogical texts as sources of linguistic input: the practical implementation of a cultural component in the language classroom in, editor(s)D.Ó Baoill & A. Chambers , Intercultural Communication and Language Learning, Dublin, IRAAL / Royal Irish Academy, 1999, pp201 - 217, [Devitt, Seán ], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
L'acquisition précoce du français par deux filles anglophones in, editor(s)M.Souchon , Pratiques discursives et acquisition des langues étrangères: Actes du Xe Colloque International "Acquisition d'une langue étrangère: Perspectives et Recherches, Besançon, France, 19-21 September 1996, Besançon, Presses universitaires franc-comtoises, 1998, pp239 - 250, [Devitt, Seán ], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Devitt, Seán , Review of Language and Development: Teachers in a changing world, Review of Language and Development: Teachers in a changing world, by B. Kenny and W. Savage , System, , 26, 1998, p261-264 , Review, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 3
Devitt, Seán , French: its acquisition as a second language, Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 1993, Book, PUBLISHED
Little, D. & Devitt, S. , Authentik: The User's Guide: Revised Edition, Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 1991, Book, PUBLISHED
Devitt, Seán , Authentik: The User's Guide, Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 1990, Book, PUBLISHED
Little, D.G., Devitt, S., & Singleton, D.M., Learning foreign languages from authentic texts: Theory and practice, Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 1989, Book, PUBLISHED
Little, D.G., Devitt, S., & Singleton, D.M., Authentic texts in foreign language teaching: Theory and practice, Dublin, Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd, 1988, Book, PUBLISHED

  

Awards and Honours

Award Date
Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin 2004
Officier l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques awarded by French Government 2004
Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques awarded by French Government 1986

Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

- Language acquisition (First and Second), with special emphasis on temporality, particularly in narrative. Languages being focused on: French and English. - Reading and writing processes, specifically in a second or foreign language context, specifically the development of a model for reading and writing in a second language that creates optimal conditions for the language to develop. - Learning a content subject (specifically Science) through a new language. - The value of learning a foreign language (e.g. Italian) for adults with literacy problems. - The role of a language learning experience (e.g. Russian, Japanese) as part of the initial programme of training of language teachers