ALA 2018: Towards Language Aware Citizenship Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 4-7, 2018 |
Conference website | http://www.ala2018.com |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ala2018 |
Abstract registration deadline | November 30, 2017 |
Submission deadline | November 30, 2017 |
Even though we are surrounded by language every day, many people go through life without being aware of its essential role. Language is often taken for granted and its possibilities and effects, however interesting, beautiful, or even dangerous, are sometimes overlooked. In recent elections worldwide, politicians spoke about such issues as education, immigration and the environment and evoked various images to influence public opinion. In multicultural and digital communities, many languages appear side by side, which have become an important part of people’s interaction, creativity and identity. In many countries, English is gaining ground as the language of instruction in secondary schools and at universities, which influences both instruction and learning. These are just some of the many language-related topics affecting our diverse and globalising world. It seems that an awareness of such language issues is pivotal in order to understand each other, to enjoy the rich diversity, and to take part in society effectively.
We think the world would be a different place if everyone were to go through life as a language aware citizen. Language aware citizens are people who are able to perceive the effects language has on themselves and on others and who are able to critically engage with and use language accordingly in today’s (multicultural) society: at work, at home, at school, within their communities, etc. They are conscious of attitudes and assumptions that may lie hidden within language used to describe the past, the present as well as the future and they understand the value of society’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Language aware citizens are aware of the role language plays throughout their lives, both private and professional.
So, what exactly is it that language aware citizens should know about? How do we make them aware? And to what effect?
For the 14th ALA conference, the teacher education department of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam would like to invite scholars to present their research through the lens of language aware citizenship. Data presented may concern insights from e.g. linguistic analysis, analysis of perceptions of language, or research presenting experiences with language awareness approaches in different contexts. They may be relevant to a specific (professional) community, e.g. teachers, or journalists, or could apply to society in general.
Submission Guidelines
The submission deadline for abstracts is 30 November 2017. The abstracts will be reviewed anonymously and notification of acceptance will be sent at the end of January 2018.
We invite proposals for paper sessions (20 minutes presentation plus 10 minutes discussion), poster sessions and 60-minute workshops (in which your audience experiences e.g. the type of analysis you did, the classroom approach central in your research, etc.).
Abstracts (for papers, posters or workshops) should be no longer than 350 words. This excludes references (you will have space to include 3 to 4 references). Please make clear in your abstract how your topic applies to language awareness; if you would like to provide a workshop, please include a brief description of the workshop’s activity and goals. When submitting your abstract, you will be asked to include three keywords and to indicate to which conference subtheme you would like to contribute (see list of topics below).
Please submit your proposal via the EasyChair ALA 2018 conference website. We will use this system to correspond with authors about their submission. If you do not have an account in EasyChair, you can simply create one by completing the steps indicated on the EasyChair website. Once you have submitted an abstract, you may modify and re-upload new versions of your abstract before the review phase starts.
Papers and workshops will be programmed in appropriate strands depending on the proposals we receive. If you would like to suggest your own panel session (2 or 3 papers on a similar topic), please approach us through the conference email address (ala2018conference@gmail.com).
List of Topics
We would like to approach the overarching theme of language aware citizenship in the following subthemes:
- Language awareness, education and learning
Language of instruction, CLIL, ELF, awareness of language in curriculum design, L1 and L2 learning, language awareness in the classroom, multicultural classrooms, teacher language awareness (in all subjects), school language policy, discourse in and about education, etc. - Language awareness, culture, community and identity
Language variation and diversity, language change, language attitudes, gender issues, minorities, language play and creativity, intercultural communication, (non-)discriminatory use of language, etc. - Language awareness, politics and the media
Rhetorics, framing, the language of policy making, the influence of language in communication, etc. - Language awareness in different professions and contexts
Language awareness in law, medicine, science, religion, Internet, language in the workplace etc.
Venue
The conference will be held in the southern part of Amsterdam. Please see the conference website (www.ala2018.com) for more information on the venue and accommodation.
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to ala2018conference@gmail.com.