| Core Discipline | : | Linguistics |
| Areas of Expertise | : | Psycholinguistics, Educational Linguistics, English Language Teaching |
| Research Interests | : | Society and language, language pedagogy, multilingualism, culture and language, wellness and language |
Dr. Sandhya Shankar holds a doctorate from the Jawaharlal Nehru University for research with UGC-JRF in the field of Psycholinguistics. It concentrated on the cognition of time in children. Her graduation was in Elementary Education from Delhi University. The course was an integrative study of human development, subject knowledge and communication skills.
She pursued her M.A. in Linguistics, with courses including semantics and developmental psycholinguistics. She has published various articles in journals and books apart from presenting papers in both national and international conferences. Her expertise lies in Language Acquisition and Pedagogy, Wellness and Language and Culture and language.
Other than academics she is interested in painting, cartooning and writing. Among her love for books, suspense and crime thrillers steal the top spot. On the emotional side of poetry, she likes the works of Nissim Ezekiel and A. K. Ramanujan. If not reading, she also likes to pen down her thoughts, often as poems or cartoons. Some of her works may be accessed here: https://blog.cvv.ac.in/author/sandhya/
Educational Qualifications
• PhD Linguistics – Jawaharlal Nehru University (2013 – 2017)
• UGC – NET JRF (Linguistics) – University Grants Commission (2013)
• MA Linguistics – Jawaharlal Nehru University (2010 – 2012) (1st rank)
• B.El.Ed – Gargi College, Delhi University (2006-2010) (1st rank)
Professional Experience (Research/Teaching/Industry)
• Assistant Professor at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Kerala (Nov 2018 – present)
• Assistant Professor at Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies (Nov 2017 – Oct 2018)
• Teaching Assistant at Jawaharlal Nehru University (Jan 2017 – May 2017)
• Faculty (on contract) at Ashtavakra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences (Jun 2016 – May 2017)
MEMBERSHIP/POSITIONS IN PROFESSIONAL BODIES
• Annual Membership at World Association of Authors and Researchers (2022)
• Editor of Journal of Psychosocial Research’s Special Issue (Dec 2020)
INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS (8)
• Shankar, S. (2022, January). When Silence is Deafening. Ars Artium, An International Refereed Research Journal of English Studies and Culture, 10.
• Shankar, S., & Venkat, V. (2021, January). Validating Culture through Folklore: A Study in Santhal Folktales. Gnosis: An International Referred Journal of English Language and Literature, 7(1).
• Shankar, S., & Venkat, V. (2020, July). Happiness as Health: A Comparison between Karma Yoga and Martin Seligman’s Theory of Well-being. International Multidisciplinary Quarterly Research Journal ‘Ajanta’, 9(2).
• Shankar, S. (2019, June). Children’s perception of Duration: Lexical and Relative Sense of Time. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 4(6).
• Shankar, S. (2019, June). Representation of Spatial and Temporal Plane in Malayalam by Pre-primary and Primary children. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 6(2).
• Shankar, S. (2017, July). Verifiability and Falsifiability as parameters for Scientific Methodology. IRA- International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(2).
• Shankar, S. (2017, September). Piaget’s Structuralism and Linguistics. SAJMS, 4(2).
• Shankar, S. (2016, July). A Typology of Rare Features in Numerals. SAJMS, 3(2).
BOOK CHAPTERS (2)
• Shankar, S. (2023). Time and Space. An Indian Perspective. In Schmidt, B, Mathew, J.K & Pande, A (Eds.), Time and Temporality: In the Asian and European Modernity (pp 85-94). DOBU Verlag.
• Shankar, S. (2017). Issues of Multilingualism and Curriculum. In Dalal, G & Gulati, V (Eds.), Innovations in English Language Teaching in India: Trends in Language Pedagogy and Technology (pp 97-110). Lexington Books.
• Shankar, S. (2020). To be and Reflection. In An Anthology: The Water Iris (pp 57-59). The Alcove Publisher.
• Time, Tense and Aspect, in Malayalam narratives of 3-6-year-old Multilingual Children at the 45th All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists and International Symposium on Case, Agreements and Postpositions conducted by the Department of Linguistics, Delhi University (2017)
• A Typology of Rare Features in Numerals at the 30th South Asian Languages Analyses Roundtable conducted by the University of Hyderabad (2014)
• Cultural hegemony through textbooks in India at the National Seminar on Talking Differences Critiquing Narratives and Discourses Govt. Arts and Science College, Thrissur (2018)
• Language Technology and Multilingual Education in India at the 3-day National Seminar on Indian Language Technology conducted by the Department of Linguistics, Kerala University (2018)
• Issues of Multilingualism and Language Curriculum in India at the International Mother Language Day Symposium conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (2014)
KEYNOTE/ GUEST/ ACADEMIC LECTURES/SESSIONS (3)
• English Language and Arts at the Kalasamanvayah – Art Integration in School Learning session conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth and CMTEC (February 2021)
• Teacher Training Workshop on Reading skills conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Ernakulam (Feb 2019 and March 2020)
• Academic Lecture on Gender Stereotyping in Children’s Literature Representation of Reality in Inclusive Literature conducted by Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, Thrissur (November 2017)
AWARDS & HONOURS
• First Rank/Position [MA Linguistics] by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (2012)
RESEARCH PROJECTS
• Folklores and Legends of Central Kerala Devi Temples: A Socio-Cultural Model based on Emic Perspective funded by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) (2023)
• Project Fellow for ‘Multimedia education and development of tools for peace education funded by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) (2013)
• Project Assistant for the Study of Case Markers in Hindi as part of collaboration between Essex University (UK) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi). (2013)
Ph.D. Supervision
• Ph.D. thesis: A curious mix of myth, fiction and reality: Turning the narrative eye towards Colourism as a Neo-colonial tool at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) (2020)
FDP/Workshops/Certificate Courses
• Coursera – Certificate course on The Science of Well-being at the Yale University (March 2022)
• Research in Universities: Fine Tuning of faculties skills conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Kerala (March 2021)
• Faculty Development Programme on PO, PSO, CO Framework conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Kerala (January 2021)
• Coursera – Certificate course on Teaching Character and creating Positive Classrooms Relay Graduate school of Education (April 2020)
• Online Workshop on Avadhānam with Śatāvadhānī by Dr. R. Ganesh conducted at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Kerala (August 2020)
• Indian Perspectives on Health, Time and Managing Lifestyles conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Kerala (August 2020)
• Faculty Development Programme on Towards being a better educator – Understanding the learner conducted by Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Kerala (June 2020)
• One Day Regional Seminar on ‘Quality Enhancement and Sustenance’ conducted by Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, Thrissur (October 2019)
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS (ARTS/SPORTS/LITERARY/Other – if any)
• Moderator for the Open Day – Kenya donor meet at CVV and Chinmaya Mission (June 2022)
• Moderator for US donors meet at CVV and Chinmaya Mission (May 2022)
• Chief Guest for the Audio Book Launch at Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, Thrissur (June 2021)
• Webinar speaker at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (June 2020)
• Webinar speaker at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (November 2019)
OTHER ENGAGEMENTS
• Faculty in-charge for the Grantha Club at CVV (June 2019 – present)
• Workshop Coordinator for the Integrated Education Programme at CVV (January 2022 – present)
• Editor of Chinmaya Sri Magazine at CVV (January 2020 – May 2021
• Member of Student Grievance Cell at CVV (Dec 2020 – April 2023)
• Member of Faculty Grievance Cell at CVV (Dec 2020 – April 2023)
• Team Leader of NAAC Criteria 5 at CVV (June 2020 – July 2021)
• Faculty in-charge of Mithra system at CVV (Jan 2020 – July 2021)
• Faculty in-charge of Internship and Placement Committee at CVV (Jan 2020 – May 2020)
• Bridge Programme Coordinator at CVV (July 2020 and 2021)
Dr. Sandhya Shankar holds a doctorate from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for research with UGC-JRF in the field of Psycholinguistics. It concentrated on the cognition of time in children, the way children represent time and space in their language. Her graduation in Elementary Education focuses on Language and Mathematics Pedagogy. The course was an integrative study of human development, subject knowledge and communication skills. It included an in-depth study of child language acquisition and curriculum planning.
Pursuing her interest in language acquisition studies, she pursued her M.A. in Linguistics, with courses including applied linguistics, semiotics and developmental psycholinguistics. She has published various articles in journals and authored a chapter in a book apart from presenting papers in both national and international conferences. Since 2013, she has worked on research projects, including one on peace education with NCERT, Delhi and taught in different colleges in Delhi and Kerala. Her expertise lies in Language Acquisition in Children, Cross-Cultural Conceptualization of Space and Time, Developmental Psycholinguistics and Language Pedagogy.
Other than academics she is interested in painting, cartooning and writing. She follows cricket keenly, though her interest in sports is limited to watching them on the small screen. Among her love for books, suspense and crime thrillers steal the top spot, with author Agatha Christie being one of her favourites. On the emotional side of poetry, she likes the works of Nissim Ezekiel and A. K. Ramanujan. If not reading, she also likes to pen down her thoughts, often as poems or cartoons. Some of her works may be accessed here: https://blog.cvv.ac.in/author/sandhya/
Education
- Ph.D. (Linguistics), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
- M.A. Linguistics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
- B.El.Ed, Delhi University, New Delhi
- UGC-JRF NET in Linguistics
Professional Experience (Research/Teaching)
- Assistant Professor, Department of English, Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, Kerala (2017-2018)
- Faculty (on contract), Ashtavakra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, Delhi (2016-2017)
- Teaching Assistant, Centre for Linguistics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi (2017)
- Project Fellow, Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education, NCERT, Delhi (2013)
- Project Assistant: Project title ‘Study of Case markers in Hindi’. A collaboration between Essex University (UK) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi). (2013)
- Content Developer K-5 (English and Mathematics) at Extramarks Education Pvt. Ltd, Noida (2012)
Interests (Research/Teaching)
Language Acquisition, Cognition of Language, Psycholinguistics, Communicative English, Language Pedagogy
Journals
- “Happiness as Health: A Comparison between Karma Yoga and Martin Seligman’s Theory of Well-being”, International Multidisciplinary Quarterly Research Journal ‘Ajanta’, Volume IX, Issue 2, ISSN: 2277-5730 (pp 27-34) (2020)
- Children’s perception of Duration: Lexical and Relative Sense of Time”, International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, ISSN: 2456-2165: Volume 4 Issue 6 (June 2019)
- Representation of Spatial and Temporal Plane in Malayalam by Pre-primary and Primary children”, International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, ISSN: 2348-1269, Volume 6 Issue 2 (June 2019)
- “Verifiability and Falsifiability as parameters for Scientific Methodology”, IRA- International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, ISSN: 2455-2526; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2017)
- ‘Piaget’s Structuralism and Linguistics, SAJMS, ISSN: 2349-7858: SJIF: 2.246: Volume 4 Issue 2 (2017)
- ‘A Typology of Rare Features in Numerals’, SAJMS, ISSN: 2349-7858: SJIF: 2.246: Volume 3 Issue 2 (2016)
Books
Co-editor for a special issue of Journal of Psychosocial Research (ISSN (printed): 0973-5410. ISSN (electronic): 0976-3937.), July-Dec 2020 (in press) containing selected papers from the NFSI Conference 2019 (Along with Dr. Shilpa Pandit and Dr. R Venkata Raghavan), Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Kerala.
Book Chapters
Poems
- ‘To be… and Reflection’: The Water Iris – an Anthology, The Alcove Publishers, 2020
- ‘The Special Ghost’, LiveWire, 2020 https://livewire.thewire.in/fiction-and-verse/the-special-ghost/
Guest Lectures, Papers Presentations & Conference Attendance
- “Happiness as Health: A Comparison between Karma Yoga and Martin Seligman’s Theory of Well-being”, International Multidisciplinary Quarterly Research Journal ‘Ajanta’, Volume IX, Issue 2, ISSN: 2277-5730 (pp 27-34) (along with Dr. Vishaka Venkat) (2020)
- Delivered a lecture titled, ‘Myths as Metaphors’, on 11 July 2020, in the Myth-Itihāsa-Purāṇa, open minor offered by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Summer semester
- “Concept of Time and Space in Hinduism and its perception by children”, International Conference on Time and Temporality in the Asian and European Modernity, English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad (February 2019)
- “Cultural hegemony through textbooks in India”, National Seminar on Talking Differences: Critiquing Narratives and Discourses, Govt. Arts and Science College Chelakkara, Thrissur (December 2018)
- “Language Technology and Multilingual Education in India”, in the 3-day National Seminar on Indian Language Technology, organized by Department of Linguistics, Kerala University, Kerala, (21-23 March 2018)
- Invited talk on “Gender Stereotyping in Children’s Literature”, in the International Seminar on ‘Representation of Reality in Inclusive Literature’ held at Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, (16-17 November 2017)
- “Time, Tense and Aspect, in Malayalam narratives of 3-6-year-old Multilingual Children” in 45th All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists and International Symposium on Case, Agreements and Postpositions, at Delhi University, (23-25 June 2017)
- “A Typology of Rare Features in Numerals”, 30th South Asian Languages Analyses Roundtable, University of Hyderabad (February 2014)
- “Issues of Multilingualism and Language Curriculum in India” International Mother Language Day Symposium, Centre for Linguistics, JNU, Delhi (February 2014)
Workshops/Training Attended
- An Online Workshop on Avadhānam with Śatāvadhānī Dr. R. Ganesh, organised by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Kerala (21 July to 19 August 2020)
- ‘Indian Perspectives on Health, Time and Managing Lifestyles’, organized as part of Sanskrit Month 2020 celebrations by Chinmaya Vishawavidyapeeth, Kerala (31 July to 09 August 2020)
- Towards being a better educator – Understanding the learner’ an online Faculty Development Program, hosted by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth in association with Shikshangan Education Initiatives June 8-14, 2020
- New Frontiers in Sanskrit and Indic Knowledge (NFSI-2019), organized by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Kerala. (17 to 19 December 2020).
- One Day Regional Seminar on ‘Quality Enhancement and Sustenance’, organized by Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies, Thrissur, Kerala (05 October 2019).
- National convention on Ethics in Research on Human Subjects: Problems of Implementing International Norms and Guidelines in Indian Context (JNU), Institutional Ethics Review Board, JNU, Delhi (July 2013).
- International Seminar on Prosodic Interfaces (ISPI), Centre for Linguistics, JNU, Delhi (November 2011).
- Cognition summer school, Theme: Thought and Cognition, National Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore (July 2011).
Workshops/Training Conducted
- Resource Person: Art Integration in English, Kalasamnvayah (Online Workshop) organized by CVV and CCMT Education Cell, February 2021
- Resource person: ‘Be a Teacher: Roads to a great teaching career’, 20 June 2020
- Two-day Teacher Training Workshop for Teachers of English, 14-15 February 2020, organized by CVV
Certification Course
Certificate course in ‘Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms’, from Relay Graduate School of Education, New York on Coursera.
- Faculty-in-charge of the Grantha Club, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Team Lead for the NAAC Criterion Team 5, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Member of the Internship and Placement Cell, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Member of the Alumni Association, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Faculty Representative on the Library Committee, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Member of the Employee Grievance Redressal Committee, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth
- Co-editor of Chinmayasri, the biannual newsletter of Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth (2020)
- Bridge Programme Coordinator, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth (2019 and 2020)