Dr Sonali Nag is Professor of Psychology and Education and Education Fellow of Brasenose College.

Her interest in children’s typical and atypical development began with an MPhil at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS, India).

Following her MPhil, she co-established the Consultant Psychologists Group and a Special Needs Center offering support for children manifesting difficulties in school. She also began work in the Indian charity, The Promise Foundation , focusing on early childhood and primary school programmes for children in poverty. She remains an honorary member of the Foundation.

Her PhD at the University of Portsmouth (UK) examined the impact of two interventions on literacy outcomes among multilingual children. In 2004, she began exploring the cognitive bases of learning to read in the Indic writing system of South Asia and as a Newton Fellow of the Royal Society and British Academy began the Children Learning to Read project in India in 2009. She curates a unique web resource—Lingua Akshara —for researchers, clinicians and teachers working in South and Southeast Asian languages. She moved to Oxford in 2017.

Sonali investigates child learning within diverse settings. Her research is comparative with a focus on languages, writing systems, cultural settings and levels of socio-economic status. She uses a wide variety of methods including surveys in schools and home settings, child assessments, corpora analysis, secondary data analysis, and narrative reviews. Her work seeks to develop a nuanced, contextually grounded understanding of child development. Her research can broadly be categorised into the study of child level factors and contextual factors.

She has worked extensively on the languages of south Asia and how children master the scripts of the region. She has conducted studies on literacy development in multilingual India, focusing on Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Hindi and English. Since 2015, this line of work has expanded to select other languages across Asia, including Sinhala, Filipino and Mandarin. Taken together, this body of work has helped to understand how design features of a writing system influence learning. Since 2020, she is working with collaborators on interventions that can support children’s oral language development. Another line of recent work is to examine children’s books to better map the real world demands on meaning making among young learners.

She also studies the effects of contextual factors on literacy learning using an unparalleled database of thirty-years of research in low- and middle-income countries. This work synthesises descriptive, correlational and causal evidence to inform theorising, and practice. The work on child assessment, for instance, has drawn attention to large-scale replication of western tests even when education systems are not teaching a European language or alphabetic system. The examination of interventions to support literacy learning highlights little attention to potentially useful cultural practices linked to oral and choral language traditions and learning-by-writing. These lines of study have relevance for policy and practice.

Sonali is currently the course leader for the MSc. Education (Child Development and Education) pathway. She serves as a reviewer for national and international research councils and high impact journals in the fields of child development, experimental and developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, neuroscience, education, and development studies. she has been a key note speaker, invited speaker and symposium chair at leading international conferences concerned with reading, cognition, developmental disorders, and comparative and international education. She has initiated and led international networks for the study of the akshara writing system of Asia, foundation learning in low- and middle-income countries, and methods to assess child language. She has written evidence briefs, drafted education policies, and led reform of curricula for the early childhood and primary school years. She has been an invited panel member in agenda-setting meetings for multilateral agencies. She has also supported practitioner networks.

 

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS 

  1. Nag, S. (accepted). How children learn to use a writing system: Mapping evidence from an Indic orthography to written language in children’s books. (Written Language and Literacy)
  2. Nag, S. & Narayanan, B. (2019). Orthographic knowledge, spelling and reading development in Tamil: the first three years. In M. Joshi, & C. McBride, (Eds). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer.
  3. Nag, S. (2019). Keynote. Quality and scale: tools, programmes & adults learning. The Literacy Conference: Quality at Scale. Seminar on Literacy and Reading in Indian scripts and languages. Room to Read India Trust and USAID.
  4. Wijaythilake, MADK, Parrila, R, Inoue, T, & Nag, S. (2018). Instruction matters to the development of phoneme awareness and its relationship to akshara knowledge and word reading: Evidence from Sinhala. Scientific Studies of Reading. 22(5) 420-433. http://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2018.1466890
  5. Nag, S., Vagh, S., Dulay, K., & Snowling, M. (2018). Home language, school language and children’s literacy attainments: A systematic review of evidence from low‐ and middle‐income countries. Review of Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3130. Contexts and Implications for Policy and Practice
  6. Nag, S., Snowling, M.J., & Mirkovic, J. (2018). The role of language production mechanisms in children’s sentence repetition: Evidence from an inflectionally rich language. Applied Psycholinguistics. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716417000200
  7. Nag, S. (2017). Learning to read alphasyllabaries. In K. Cain, D. Compton, & R. Parrila (Eds.) Theories of reading development. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  8. Nag, S. (2017). The Akshara languages of South Asia: literacy acquisition and development. In: Perfetti, & L. Verhoeven (Eds.) Learning to read across languages and writing systems: an international handbook. Cambridge University Press.
  9. Nag, S. (2017) Assessment of literacy and foundation learning in developing countries: final report. xiii, 94p London: Department for International Development. Evidence Brief. Video description. Variability in learning contexts and learning to read. Blog.
  10. Adoption of cultural sensitivity guidelines for educational programmes, in Assessing the Strength of Evidence in the Education Sector, (n.d.) p. 20-22, Building Evidence in Education (BE2) led by a steering committee comprising DfID, UNICEF, USAID and the World Bank Group.
  11. Nag, S., Snowling, M.J. & Asfaha, Y. (2016). Classroom literacy practices in low- and middle-income countries: an interpretative synthesis of ethnographic studies. Oxford Education Review, 42 (1), 36-54. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2015.1135115
  12. Nag, S. & Perfetti, C. A. (2014). Reading and writing: Insights from the alphasyllabaries of South and Southeast Asia. Writing Systems Research, 6(1), 1-9.
  13. Nag, S. (2014). Akshara-phonology mappings: The common yet uncommon case of the consonant cluster. Writing Systems Research, 6, 105–119. DOI: 10.1080/17586801.2013.855621
  14. Nag, S., Snowling, M., Quinlan, P. & Hulme, C. (2014). Child and symbol factors in learning to read a visually complex writing system. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18, 1-16.
  15. Nag S., Chiat S., Torgerson C., Snowling M. J. (2014). Literacy, foundation learning and assessment in developing countries: final report. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, University of London. ISBN: 978-1-907345-65-4 Evidence Brief. Video description.
  16. Nag, S. (2014). Alphabetism and the science of reading: from the perspective of the akshara languages. Frontiers in Psychology, 5:866.
  17. Nag, S., & Snowling, M. J. (2012). Reading in an alphasyllabary: Implications for a language-universal theory of learning to read. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 404-423.
  18. Nag, S. & Snowling, M.J. (2012). School underachievement and specific learning difficulties. In Rey, J.M (Ed). IACAPAP e-textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Accompanying powerpoint presentation for teaching by M. DiGiovanni & J. Chilton in Section C (Developmental Disorders).
  19. Nag, S. (2011). The akshara languages: What do they tell us about children’s literacy learning? In R. Mishra & N. Srinivasan (Eds.), Language-Cognition: State of the Art (pp. 291 – 310).  Germany: Lincom Publishers.
  20. Nag, S. (Feb, 2007). Early reading in Kannada: The pace of acquisition of orthographic knowledge and phonemic awareness. Journal of Research in Reading, 30(1), 7-22. Special Issue on Reading and Literacy in Developing Countries.

 BOOKS 

  1. Verhoeven, S. Nag, C. Perfetti, & K. Pugh, (Eds.) (publication expected in 2022). Global variation of literacy development. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Nag, S. (2010). A Handbook about Early Learning for Teachers. Bangalore: IBM India Ltd and The Promise Foundation (available in English, Hindi and Tamil).
  3. Abrol, U. & Nag, S. (2006). Handbook on prevention of child labour for anganwadi workers. Geneva: International Labour Organisation (available in Telugu and English).
  4. Nag, S. & Arulmani, G. (2006). Handbook on prevention of child labour for village community workers. Geneva: International Labour Organisation (available in Telugu and English).
  5. Nag-Arulmani, S. (2005). (Series Editor). Somu Series: Teachers’ manual for promoting early reading. Bangalore, India: The Promise Foundation (available in four Indian languages).
  6. Arulmani, G. & Nag-Arulmani, S. (2004). Career counselling: A handbook. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.

BOOK CHAPTERS

  1.  Nag, S. & Narayanan, B. (2019). Orthographic knowledge, spelling and reading development in Tamil: the first three years. In M. Joshi, & C. McBride, (Eds). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer.
  2. Sircar, S. & Nag, S. Spelling and reading words in Bengali: The role of distributed phonology (2019). In M. Joshi, & C. McBride, (Eds). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer.
  3. Mathur, C. & Nag, S. (2019). Language-focused instruction for literacy acquisition in akshara-based languages: Pedagogical considerations and challenges. In M. Joshi, & C. McBride, (Eds). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer.
  4. Vagh, S. B. & Nag, S. (2019). The assessment of emergent and early literacy skills in the akshara languages. In M. Joshi, & C. McBride, (Eds). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer.
  5. Vagh, S. B., Nag, S., & Banerjee, R. (2017). India: The policy and practice of early literacy acquisition in the akshara languages. In: Kucirkova, C. Snow, V. Grover, & C. McBride (Eds.) The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education: A Contemporary Guide to Literacy Teaching and Interventions in a Global Context. Routledge.
  6. Nag, S. (2017). Learning to read alphasyllabaries. In K. Cain, D. Compton, & R. Parrila (Eds.) Theories of reading development. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  7. Nag, S. (2017). The Akshara languages of South Asia: literacy acquisition and development. In: Perfetti, & L. Verhoeven (Eds.) Learning to read across languages and writing systems: an international handbook. Cambridge University Press.
  8. Sircar, S. & Nag, S. (2014). Akshara-syllable mappings in Bengali: a language -specific skill for reading. In H. Winskel & P. Padakannaya (Eds), South and Southeast Asian Psycholinguistics (pp. 409 – 425). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  9. Nag, S. (2014). Special educational needs, social cognitive environments and preparing for the world of work. In G. Arulmani, A. Bakshi, F. Leong, & A. G. Watts (Eds.) Handbook of Career Development: International Perspectives (pp. 497 – 512). Springer, N. Y.
  10. Nag, S. & Snowling, M.J. (2013). Children’s reading development: Learning about sounds, symbols and cross-modal mappings.  In Kar, B.R.  (Ed).  Cognition and Brain Development: Converging Evidence from Various Methodologies.  (pp. 253-270) Washington DC: APA.
  11. Nag, S. & Snowling, M.J. (2012). School underachievement and specific learning difficulties. In Rey, J.M (Ed). IACAPAP e-textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Accompanying powerpoint presentation for teaching by M. DiGiovanni & J. Chilton in Section C (Developmental Disorders).
  12. Nag, S. (2011). The akshara languages: What do they tell us about children’s literacy learning? In R. Mishra & N. Srinivasan (Eds.), Language-Cognition: State of the Art (pp. 291 – 310).  Germany: Lincom Publishers.
  13. Nag, S. (2003). Reading difficulties in the Indian languages. In N. Goulandris (Ed.) Dyslexia: A Cross Linguistic Perspective (pp. 235-254). London: Whurr Publishers.
  14. Arulmani, G. & Nag-Arulmani, S. (2001). The child in the community: Multiple dimensions to disadvantage. In G. Mohan Kumar, A. Umapathy & S. Bhogle, (Eds.), Readings in Child Development. Bangalore: Prasaranga Publishers.
  15. Nag, S. (1996). Students with specific learning disability in the new English curriculum. In R. Mathew & R. L. Eapen (Eds.), The Language Curriculum: Dynamics of change (Vol. II). Hyderabad: Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL).

CONFERENCE PAPERS

2021        Nag, S. Language, literacy and learning in the early grade. Invited Plenary Speaker, 7th International Literacy Conference of the Reading Association of the Philippines

2021        Padilla, P., Fua, M. M. R. C., Reoperez, M. G., Lucasan, K. L., Ocampo, D. J., Diaz, L., Salvador, A. M. M. S, Dulay, K. M. & Nag, S. UsapTayo, Para sa Bata: A Closer Look at Children’s Books. 7th International Literacy Conference of the Reading Association of the Philippines

2021        Nag, S. Language, literacy and children’s books. Invited Panellist, International Conference on Designing for Children, IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Bombay, Mumbai, India.

2020        Dulay, K. M. & Nag, S. A corpus-based analysis of Filipino verbs in children’s books. Words in the World Conference.

2020        Nagendra, S., Kotian, D., Megha K., Arulmani, G., John, S., Tiwari, S., Dulay, K. M. & Nag, S. Lexical diversity in a morphologically rich south Asian language: a very preliminary psycholinguistic analysis of a child-directed print corpus.  Words in the World Conference.

2020         Padilla, P., Ocampo, D. J., Lucasan, K. L., & Nag, S. English loan words in Filipino children’s literature: Implications for cross-linguistic literacy development. Words in the World Conference.

2020         Pu, J. & Nag, S. The Effect of Copying on Intra-symbol Processing for Meaning Recognition and Written Recall: Exploring with a Home-based Programme for Chinese Heritage Language Learners. 4th Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA), Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

2019         Nag S. Assessment of literacy and foundation learning in multilingual India: What to assess and how. 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA), BITS Pilani – Goa Campus, India.

2019         Nag S. Keynote. Dyslexia:  Finding the balance. 51st Annual Conference of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association, Bangalore, India.

2019         Nag, S. Keynote. Emergent and early literacy: how children learn to use a writing system. Diversity of writing systems: embracing multiple perspectives. The 12th International Workshop of the Association for Written Language and Literacy, University of Cambridge, UK.

2019        Nag, S. Keynote. Quality and scale: tools, programmes & adults learning. The Literacy   Conference: Quality at Scale. Seminar on Literacy and Reading in Indian scripts and languages. Room to Read India Trust and USAID.

2018         Nag, S. Inaugural Lecture. Literacy and Foundation Learning in Multilingual India. Department of Education, University of Oxford.

2017         Nag, S. Keynote. Literacy in multilingual India. (Room to Read: New Delhi) Interview.

2017         Nag, S. Keynote.  A learning mechanisms perspective on reading and writing development: insights from Asia. In the Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA). (Education University, Hong Kong)

2016         Nag, S. Keynote.  On literacy learning: some old and some new constructs. 3rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Cognitive Science, Gandhinagar: India.

2016         Nag, S. Learning to read in akshara-based languages, National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, India.

2016        Nag, S. Oral Language and Learning to Read.  The Global Literacy Special Interest Group’s Highlighted Session on ‘The next generation of reading interventions: The importance of assessing & teaching oral language skills in L1’, Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada http://globalreadingnetwork.net/resources/oral-language-and-learning-read

2016        Nag, S. & Snowling, M. J. Interventions for language and literacy learning for difficult-to-reach children, Symposium Chair with accepted papers on interventions in the UK and Brazil (low-income homes), Romania (Roma children), Luxembourg (Portuguese immigrant children), and the developing countries (low-income communities), Symposium to be held at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal.

2016        Nag, S. Torgerson, C., Asfaha, Y., Griffiths, Y., Reen, C., Chiat, S., and Snowling, M. J., Literacy and foundation learning in low- and middle-income countries: a synthesis of intervention studies. Paper to be presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal.

2016       Loff, A., Vale, A. P, Mircovic, J., Moll, K., Snowling, M. J. & Nag, S. The Role of Grammatical Complexity and Verbal Memory on Sentence Repetition in Portuguese Speaking Children. Poster to be presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal.

2015       Bhide, A, Perfetti, C., Wang, J., Luo, W., Vijay, N., Maries, A. & Nag, S.  Improving akshara knowledge via a mobile game. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Hawaii, USA.

2015       Nag, S. Early Childhood Foundations for Learning. Symposium on Development and Learning; Global Education: Early Childhood and Beyond, St John’s College, Oxford

2015       Nag, S. Worlds without fear: School Cultures.  Invited Lecture in the Center for Learning (CFL) Conference, Bangalore, India.

2015      Nag, S. The cognitive bases of reading. Invited presentation in the National Consultation on Early Grade Reading: Deconstructing the Role of Fluency in Reading Instruction, organized by Room to Read, Delhi, India.

2015      Nag, S. The cognitive bases of reading. National Consultation on Early Grade Reading: Deconstructing the Role of Fluency in Reading Instruction, Room to Read, India.

2014      Nag, S. & Vagh, S.B. Home language and literacy environments: a rigorous review of research from developing countries. Institute of Education, London, UK.

2014       Venkatesh, L., Krishna, M. & Nag, S. Towards use of sentence repetition for screening of language skills in Kannada: Preliminary observations from children in first grade. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association, Kochi, India.

2014      Nag, S. Literacy learning in developing countries: Findings from a rigorous review. Institute of Education, Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism University of Reading, UK.

2013      Winskell, H. & Nag, S. Literacy development in the alphasyllabaries. Symposium Chair with papers on Sinhala, Thai, Kannada, Telugu and Korean Hangul, Symposium held at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Hong Kong.

2013      Nag, S. & Snowling, M. J.  Children’s phonemic performance: Does location matter? Paper presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Hong Kong.

2013     Venkatesh, L., Bhavani, G., Rupela, V. & Nag, S.  Syllable awareness in an alphasyllabary: Observations from syllable segmentation abilities of Telugu speaking children. Paper presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Hong Kong.

2013      Nag, S. Reading the Indic Alphasyllabaries: findings from acquisition studies. Invited papers in Symposium on ‘Learning to Read: Child and Machine’, School of Computer & Information Sciences and the Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India.

2013      Nag, S.  Language for Literacy and Mathematical Reasoning.  Invited paper presented at the International Symposium on Advances in Language-Cognition Research, Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India.

2012      Nag, S. Literacy development in children: the intertwining of oral language and the written word. Invited paper in Panel on Reading and Writing: Insights from Indian Languages, 44th Annual Convention of Indian Speech and Hearing Association, Hyderabad, India.

2012     Lall R., Sutar, L. & Nag, S. The tiger who had a cold. Changes in children’s story writing following a language programme. Poster presented in International Symposium on Language, Literacy and Cognitive Development, The Promise Foundation and University of York, Bangalore, India.

2012     Sircar, S. & Nag, S. Spelling development in young Bengali readers, paper presented in International Symposium on Language, Literacy and Cognitive Development, The Promise Foundation and University of York, Bangalore, India.

2012      Nag, S. Literacy development in children: the intertwining of oral language and the written word. Invited paper in Panel on Reading and Writing: Insights from Indian Languages, 44th Annual Convention of Indian Speech and Hearing Association, Hyderabad, India.

2012  Nag, S., Mircovik, J. & Snowling, M. J. Sentence repetitions of bilingual children:
a multi-factorial study examining individual differences in the first language. Paper presented in the International Conference on Bilingualism and Comparative Linguistics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

2012     Nag, S. Symbol learning across writing systems, Symposium Chair with papers on Chinese, Kannada, Arabic and European orthographies from Labs in 6 countries, at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Montreal

2012     Nag, S., Snowling, M. J., Hulme, C. & Quinlan, P. Learning the Kannada akshara: the role of child and symbol characteristics. Paper presented at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Montreal.

2011      Nag, S. Bengalooru and Bangalore: How does the multilingual context of an expanding city play out in its classrooms?, Paper presented at the VC’s Interdisciplinary Seminar on Megacities, University of York, UK.

2011     Nag, S. Reading acquisition across writing systems. Invited presentation, Language, Cognition and Development Seminars. School of Psychology, Bangor University

2011      Nag S. & Snowling, M. J. Another view of literacy acquisition in English: findings from a study of children learning to read two writing systems. Invited presentation at the International Conference on Reading, Spelling and Writing Development, Enhancing Literacy Development in European Languages, Prague, Czech Republic.

2011     Nag S. & Snowling, M. J. Repeat after me… What do children’s responses tell us about the foundations of literacy acquisition in the first and second language, paper presented at 8th International Conference of the British Dyslexia Association, Harrogate, UK.

2010      Nag, S. Re-thinking support:  the hidden school-to-work challenges for individuals with Special Needs, Symposium Chair, invited symposium in the International Conference on Guidance and Counselling of the International Educational and Vocational Guidance and The Promise Foundation, Bangalore, India.

2010      Nag, S. Children’s reading development: learning about sounds, symbols and cross-modal mappings, Invited paper, International Conference on Cognitive Development, Center of Cognitive and Behavioural Sciences, University of Allahabad, India.

2009      Nag, S. The visuo-spatially complex Kannada alphasyllabary, The London Symposium on Writing Systems, Institute of Education, UK.

2009     Nag, S. The visuo-spatially complex Kannada alphasyllabary, Invited paper, The London Symposium on Writing Systems, Institute of Education, UK.

2008      Nag, S. Dyslexia and the Indian akshara: emerging trends, Symposium chair, invited symposium in the International conference of the British Dyslexia Association, Harrogate, UK.

2007      Nag, S. Akshara, alphabet and learning; Invited paper in the International Conference on Cognition and Learning:  Theory and practice, Udaipur, India.

2005     Nag, S. Language Attainments and Learning Opportunities: pointers for a new curriculum framework, Invited address as member of National Focus Group – English Language, National Curriculum Framework Review of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, India.

2001      Nag, S. Communicating Strategies on ECCSGD – Experiences with communities in Karnataka, invited paper presented in the workshop for Southern States on “Communication Strategies for Early Childhood Care, Survival, Growth and Development” organised by the Commissionerate of Social Welfare (ICDS), Tamil Nadu and UNICEF, Chennai, India.

2000     Nag-Arulmani S., Arulmani, G., Lata, R., & Sutar, L., The emergence of literacy and creativity amongst tribals and forest dwellers:  our experiences with a remedial education programme, invited presentation at the Southern Region NGOs conference conducted by National Institute for Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD), Bangalore, India.

1993      Nag-Arulmani, S. Stress and the young child, invited paper presented at the national conference on Stress and the Pre-school Child organised by Teachers Centre and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Calcutta, India.

 JOURNAL ARTICLES 

  1. , S. (accepted). How children learn to use a writing system: Mapping evidence from an Indic orthography to written language in children’s books. (Written Language and Literacy)
  2. Bhide, A., Luo, W., Vijay, N., Perfetti, C., Wang, J., & Nag, S. (2019). Improving Hindi decoding skills via a mobile game. Reading and Writing, 32, 2149–2178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09934-x
  3. Wijaythilake, MADK, Parrila, R, Inoue, T, & Nag, S. (2019). Cognitive predictors of word reading in Sinhala, Reading and Writing, 32, 1881–1907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9927-5
  4. Wijaythilake, MADK, Parrila, R, Inoue, T, & Nag, S. (2018). Instruction matters to the development of phoneme awareness and its relationship to akshara knowledge and word reading: Evidence from Sinhala. Scientific Studies of Reading. 22(5) 420-433. http://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2018.1466890
  5. Nag, S., Vagh, S., Dulay, K., & Snowling, M. (2018). Home language, school language and children’s literacy attainments: A systematic review of evidence from low‐ and middle‐income countries. Review of Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3130
  6. Nag, S., Snowling, M.J., & Mirkovic, J. (2018). The role of language production mechanisms in children’s sentence repetition: Evidence from an inflectionally rich language. Applied Psycholinguistics. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716417000200
  7. Nag, S., Snowling, M.J. & Asfaha, Y. (2016). Classroom literacy practices in low- and middle-income countries: an interpretative synthesis of ethnographic studies. Oxford Education Review, 42 (1), 36-54. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2015.1135115
  8. Aravind, S., Nag, S., & Arulmani, G. (2015). A learning skills approach to the career assessment of individuals with dyslexia. Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, 31(4), 162-171.
  9. Moll, K., Hulme, C., Nag, S. & Snowling, M. (2015). Sentence repetition as a marker of language skills in children with dyslexia. Applied Psycholinguistics. 36, 203-221. doi:10.1017/S0142716413000
  10. Nag, S. (2014) Alphabetism and the science of reading: from the perspective of the akshara languages. Frontiers in Psychology, 5:866.
  11. Nag, S. (2014). Akshara-phonology mappings: The common yet uncommon case of the consonant cluster. Writing Systems Research, 6, 105–119. DOI: 10.1080/17586801.2013.855621
  12. Nag, S., Snowling, M., Quinlan, P. & Hulme, C. (2014): Child and symbol factors in learning to read a visually complex writing system. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18, 1-16. doi:10.1080/10888438.2014.892489
  13. Aravind, S. & Nag, S. (Dec., 2013) Exploring career assessment frameworks for children with learning disabilities. Journal of the Indian Association for Career and Livelihood Planning. 2(1).
  14. Nag, S. (2013). Low literacy attainments in school and approaches to diagnosis: An exploratory study. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 10(2) 197- 221.
  15. Sircar, S. & Nag, S. (2013). Children’s intuitive syllabification of intervocalic consonant clusters in Bengali: the role of sonority, phonotactics and akshara. The EFL Journal. 4(2): 35-52.
  16. Nag, S., & Snowling, M. J. (2012) Reading in an alphasyllabary: Implications for a language-universal theory of learning to read. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 404-423. doi:10.1080/10888438.2011.576352
  17. Nag S., & Snowling M. (July, 2011). Cognitive profiles of poor readers of Kannada, Reading and Writing: an Interdisciplinary Journal, 24(6), 657-676. doi: 10.1007/s11145-010-9258-7
  18. Nag, S., & Snowling, M. (June, 2011). Reading comprehension, decoding and oral language, The EFLU Journal, English and Foreign Languages University, 2(2), 75-93.
  19. Nag, S. (2011). Re-thinking support:  the hidden school-to-work challenges for individuals with Special Needs. International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance. 11(2), 125 – 137. doi: 10.1007/s10775-011-9203-6
  20. Nag, S., Treiman, R., & Snowling, M. (March, 2010). Learning to Spell in an Alphasyllabary: The case of Kannada. Writing Systems Research, 2(1), 41-52. doi: 10.1093/wsr/wsq001
  21. Nag, S. (Feb, 2007). Early reading in Kannada: The pace of acquisition of orthographic knowledge and phonemic awareness. Journal of Research in Reading, 30(1), 7-22. Special Issue on Reading and Literacy in Developing Countries.
  22. Nag, S. (July, 2006). Literacy for all: Chipping away at the ceiling, NORRAG NEWS, 37, Special Issue on Educating and training out of poverty.
  23. Arulmani, G., & Nag, S. (July, 2006). Capacity building for career counselling. Seminar, Special Issue on Education and Livelihoods.
  24. Nag-Arulmani, S. (July, 2004). Is remedial education going the counselling way? Contemporary Education Dialogue 2, 129-132. doi:1177/097318490400200113
  25. Nag-Arulmani, S., Reddy, V., & Buckley, S. (2003). Targeting Phonological representations can help in the early stages of reading in a non-dominant language.  Journal of Research in Reading, 26(1), 49-68. Special Issue on the Development of Literacy among Bilingual and Multilingual Children.
  26. Nag, S., & Rao, S. L. (1999). Remediation of attention deficits in mild head injury. Neurology India. 47(1), 32-39.
  27. Nag-Arulmani, S., & Rao, S. L. (September, 1997). Tests of Attention. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology. 24(2), 167-70.

 REPORTS

  1. Nag, S. (2017) Assessment of literacy and foundation learning in developing countries: final report. xiii, 94p London: Department for International Development.
  2. Nag S, Chiat S, Torgerson C, Snowling MJ (2014) Literacy, foundation learning and assessment in developing countries: final report. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, University of London. ISBN: 978-1-907345-65-4
  3. Nag, S. and Sircar, S. (2008). Learning to read in Bengali: Report of a Survey of five Kolkata primary schools. Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.
  4. Chamarajanagar Stories: Reflections on language, literacy and learning (2007). Bangalore: The Promise Foundation and National Institute of Advanced Studies.
  5. Arulmani, G. & Nag S. (2006). Work Orientations and Responses to Career Choices: Indian Regional Survey (WORCC-IRS). Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.
  6. Nag-Arulmani, S. & Kishen, R. (1998). Stimulation Programmes with village women in fifty two villages in Deodurg Taluk, Raichur, Karnataka. Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.
  7. Nag, S. (1997). Difficulties in reading, spelling, writing and number work in Kannada and Tamil medium schools. Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.
  8. Nag-Arulmani, S. & Rajendran, V. (1996) Stimulation programmes in anganwadis in six slums in Bangalore. Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.

OTHER 

  1. The Oxford University’s Public Engagement with Research portal: Putting children first: sharing research evidence (2021).
  2. Government of Meghalaya, India (2021). Expert member of the State Early Childhood Mission.
  3. Government of Karnataka, India (2018-present). Technical lead for early childhood curriculum reform: focus on emergent literacy. Working group comprising NGO, University, Government and UNICEF.
  4. Nag, S. (2019). Variability in learning contexts and learning to read. Teaching Struggling Readers Around the World World Learning and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
  5. Nag, S. & Arulmani, G. (March 2015). Needs analysis of eight schools under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (the Bangalore City Corporation): Final Report. Bangalore: The Promise Foundation.
  6. Nag, S. (March, 2012). The learning disorders: a multi-factorial perspective. First brainstorming meeting of the National Programme on Educational Neuroscience, National Brain Research Center (NBRC) and the Department of Science and Technology, India.
  7. Nag, S. (2010). Children with reading difficulties. For 25 years of community service report of Seva-in-Action, Bangalore: Seva-in-Action.
  8. Nag, S. (October, 2009). Inclusive classrooms for children with different language learning needs, Learning Curve, 13, 43 – 45. Special Issue on Language Learning, Bangalore: Azim Premji Foundation.
  9. National Curriculum Framework, National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCF, NCERT) (2004 – 2005). Member of Focus Group on language curriculum and English in Indian primary schools.
  10. A policy and strategy for the Government of Rwanda, Ministry of Education on a mission with UNICEF, Rwanda (2003). The draft policy and strategy were vetted by the Parliament in 2006 and became operational in the provinces soon after.

 For further information see here.

 

Funded Research Projects

  • TalkTogether: Supporting Oral Language Development (PI)
    2020-2022
    Read more
  • John Fell OUP Research Fund
    2020-21
  • John Fell OUP Research Fund
    2019-21
  • Ind-Ox GCRF Grant
    2019-2020
  • 2019-2020
  • ESRC Impact Acceleration Award, UK
    2019
  • Royal Society and British Academy
    (2009-2016)
  • Assessment of Foundation Learning and Literacy in Developing Countries: A Rigorous Review.
    (2016-2017)
  • Indian language early learning and literacy products for release through the creative commons
    (2015)
  • (2013-2014)
  • ARISE-BBMP Schools Project
    (2014-2015)
  • (2003- 2007)