Anna Dillon
Biographic Data
| ID | 3936903 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anna Dillon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anna |
| FAMILY NAME | Dillon |
| SIGNATURE | DILLON A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Emirates College for Advanced Education |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8213-1295 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
“Come back home early and read for us!” Enabling father-child shared reading in policy and practice
This project sought to increase fathers’ involvement in their children’s literacy development through interactive shared reading at home. Parent–child home reading is not a traditional practice in the UAE, and reading attainment is below international standards for children attending state schools. During workshops in Kindergarten schools, simple techniques were shared with fathers for reading picture books in Arabic and English with their biling…
Language usage during shared reading—family communication as implicit plurilingual family language policy
This brief research report explores the language choices of Emirati fathers when sharing reading with their young children, and discusses how implicit plurilingual family language policies may be expressed through these choices. Participants’ responses were shared via WhatsApp messages following on from workshops provided by the team which offered tips for sharing reading. Fathers’ reported language choices for communicating via shared reading pr…
We complete each other’
The joy of reading – Emirati fathers’ insights into shared reading with young children in a multilingual context
The Affordances and Constraints of Supporting Father-Child Shared Reading in the Multilingual Emirates
This paper reports on the affordances and constraints encountered in the case of an innovative project designed to support early literacy development in Arabic and English while enhancing father-child wellbeing in Abu Dhabi. The project sought to encourage Emirati fathers to engage in interactive shared book reading at home with their young children. In a context where adult-child home reading is not a traditional practice and where children's re…
Collage-based narratives of mothers of third culture kids
This study delves into the lives of transnational families in the UAE, exploring their complex identities using a visual research approach known as the Collage Life Elicitation Technique (CLET). Both the topic and the methodology are framed within a theoretical lens of Verstehen (understanding) with a view to further exploring the lives of transnational families in the context of a pragmatic phenomenology and within the setting of the UAE as a re…
The Superhero Garden Project
The Early Childhood Learning Center featured in this report is an on-campus university laboratory nursery in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The center staff provided opportunities for the children to engage in collaborative partnerships with two colleges at the university. The children utilized newly developed outdoor gardening spaces to explore how the natural environment functions within a unique desert climate. By engaging with plants that ha…
The effect of SMART relational skills training on intelligence quotients
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of telehealth for Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (Cald) people
OBJECTIVES: To examine the modalities and clinical and non-clinical effectiveness of telehealth services available to people from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A scoping review of peer-reviewed publications (2000-2021) on the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for Indigenous and CALD groups based on searches of Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo and manual searches from reference…
English Medium Instruction and the potential of translanguaging practices in higher education
In the UAE, although Arabic is the first and official language (L1), English has become the medium of instruction and the language of discourse in higher education in most subject domains. The pedagogical implications of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in the specific context of higher education in the UAE are not well understood, and research is needed to establish what kinds of support speakers of English as a second or additional language (L2…
Mothers’ Accounts of Attending to Educational and Everyday Needs of Their Children at Home during Covid-19
From March 2020 until July 2020, the UAE implemented mandatory distance learning due to COVID-19, which meant that children had to continue their learning remotely at home. Though schools concerted exemplary efforts to ensure that children received all that was necessary through advanced technology platforms and interfaces, the duty of ensuring that children continued to engage in successful learning fell solely on parents. This paper is based on…
Examining the text quality of English/Arabic dual language children’s picture books
Children’s literature plays an essential role in the development of children’s literacy skills. Dual language learners can particularly benefit from the use of picture books to facilitate comprehension, formulaic language acquisition, and vocabulary acquisition. This paper explores the availability and quality of English/Arabic dual language books in an early years setting in the United Arab Emirates. It is a qualitative study that examines the t…
The Experience of Co-Teaching for Emergent Arabic-English Literacy
In this paper we explore teachers’ experiences of co-teaching within a new bilingual (Arabic/ English) model in public Kindergarten schools in the United Arab Emirates. The main objective was to understand teachers’ experiences with intercultural teaching for biliteracy in this context. We interviewed six pairs of co-teachers. These co-teachers represent six of the nationalities of teachers working in public Kindergartens in Abu Dhabi, thereby re…
Metalinguistic awareness and evidence of cross-linguistic influence among bilingual learners in Irish primary schools
During an investigation into the L2 proficiency and L3 acquisition skills of 10- to 12-year-olds in Irish primary schools, questions of metalinguistic awareness and cross-linguistic influence were raised. Do children who are more balanced bilinguals develop a higher sense of metalinguistic awareness than less balanced bilinguals? What evidence of cross-linguistic influence do those children display? Which language, or language teacher type, is mo…
Mothers’ Accounts of Attending to Educational and Everyday Needs of Their Children at Home during Covid-19
From March 2020 until July 2020, the UAE implemented mandatory distance learning due to COVID-19, which meant that children had to continue their learning remotely at home. Though schools concerted exemplary efforts to ensure that children received all that was necessary through advanced technology platforms and interfaces, the duty of ensuring that children continued to engage in successful learning fell solely on parents. This paper is based on…
The joy of reading – Emirati fathers’ insights into shared reading with young children in a multilingual context
The Experience of Co-Teaching for Emergent Arabic-English Literacy
In this paper we explore teachers’ experiences of co-teaching within a new bilingual (Arabic/ English) model in public Kindergarten schools in the United Arab Emirates. The main objective was to understand teachers’ experiences with intercultural teaching for biliteracy in this context. We interviewed six pairs of co-teachers. These co-teachers represent six of the nationalities of teachers working in public Kindergartens in Abu Dhabi, thereby re…
The Affordances and Constraints of Supporting Father-Child Shared Reading in the Multilingual Emirates
This paper reports on the affordances and constraints encountered in the case of an innovative project designed to support early literacy development in Arabic and English while enhancing father-child wellbeing in Abu Dhabi. The project sought to encourage Emirati fathers to engage in interactive shared book reading at home with their young children. In a context where adult-child home reading is not a traditional practice and where children's re…
Metalinguistic awareness and evidence of cross-linguistic influence among bilingual learners in Irish primary schools
During an investigation into the L2 proficiency and L3 acquisition skills of 10- to 12-year-olds in Irish primary schools, questions of metalinguistic awareness and cross-linguistic influence were raised. Do children who are more balanced bilinguals develop a higher sense of metalinguistic awareness than less balanced bilinguals? What evidence of cross-linguistic influence do those children display? Which language, or language teacher type, is mo…
The Experience of Co-Teaching for Emergent Arabic-English Literacy
In this paper we explore teachers’ experiences of co-teaching within a new bilingual (Arabic/ English) model in public Kindergarten schools in the United Arab Emirates. The main objective was to understand teachers’ experiences with intercultural teaching for biliteracy in this context. We interviewed six pairs of co-teachers. These co-teachers represent six of the nationalities of teachers working in public Kindergartens in Abu Dhabi, thereby re…
Examining the text quality of English/Arabic dual language children’s picture books
Children’s literature plays an essential role in the development of children’s literacy skills. Dual language learners can particularly benefit from the use of picture books to facilitate comprehension, formulaic language acquisition, and vocabulary acquisition. This paper explores the availability and quality of English/Arabic dual language books in an early years setting in the United Arab Emirates. It is a qualitative study that examines the t…
English Medium Instruction and the potential of translanguaging practices in higher education
In the UAE, although Arabic is the first and official language (L1), English has become the medium of instruction and the language of discourse in higher education in most subject domains. The pedagogical implications of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in the specific context of higher education in the UAE are not well understood, and research is needed to establish what kinds of support speakers of English as a second or additional language (L2…
Mothers’ Accounts of Attending to Educational and Everyday Needs of Their Children at Home during Covid-19
From March 2020 until July 2020, the UAE implemented mandatory distance learning due to COVID-19, which meant that children had to continue their learning remotely at home. Though schools concerted exemplary efforts to ensure that children received all that was necessary through advanced technology platforms and interfaces, the duty of ensuring that children continued to engage in successful learning fell solely on parents. This paper is based on…
The Superhero Garden Project
The Early Childhood Learning Center featured in this report is an on-campus university laboratory nursery in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The center staff provided opportunities for the children to engage in collaborative partnerships with two colleges at the university. The children utilized newly developed outdoor gardening spaces to explore how the natural environment functions within a unique desert climate. By engaging with plants that ha…
The effect of SMART relational skills training on intelligence quotients
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of telehealth for Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (Cald) people
OBJECTIVES: To examine the modalities and clinical and non-clinical effectiveness of telehealth services available to people from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A scoping review of peer-reviewed publications (2000-2021) on the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for Indigenous and CALD groups based on searches of Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo and manual searches from reference…
Collage-based narratives of mothers of third culture kids
This study delves into the lives of transnational families in the UAE, exploring their complex identities using a visual research approach known as the Collage Life Elicitation Technique (CLET). Both the topic and the methodology are framed within a theoretical lens of Verstehen (understanding) with a view to further exploring the lives of transnational families in the context of a pragmatic phenomenology and within the setting of the UAE as a re…
“Come back home early and read for us!” Enabling father-child shared reading in policy and practice
This project sought to increase fathers’ involvement in their children’s literacy development through interactive shared reading at home. Parent–child home reading is not a traditional practice in the UAE, and reading attainment is below international standards for children attending state schools. During workshops in Kindergarten schools, simple techniques were shared with fathers for reading picture books in Arabic and English with their biling…
Language usage during shared reading—family communication as implicit plurilingual family language policy
This brief research report explores the language choices of Emirati fathers when sharing reading with their young children, and discusses how implicit plurilingual family language policies may be expressed through these choices. Participants’ responses were shared via WhatsApp messages following on from workshops provided by the team which offered tips for sharing reading. Fathers’ reported language choices for communicating via shared reading pr…
We complete each other’
The joy of reading – Emirati fathers’ insights into shared reading with young children in a multilingual context
The Affordances and Constraints of Supporting Father-Child Shared Reading in the Multilingual Emirates
This paper reports on the affordances and constraints encountered in the case of an innovative project designed to support early literacy development in Arabic and English while enhancing father-child wellbeing in Abu Dhabi. The project sought to encourage Emirati fathers to engage in interactive shared book reading at home with their young children. In a context where adult-child home reading is not a traditional practice and where children's re…
Psychology (11 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (6 works) · Pedagogy (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works) · Geography (4 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Second Language Learning and Teaching (4 works)