Bi/Multilingualism and the History of Language Learning and Teaching

HoLLTnet international meeting:

‘Bi/Multilingualism and the History of Language Learning and Teaching’

University of Reading, United Kingdom, 6-7 July 2018

HoLLTnet (www.hollt.net) is a Research Network of AILA (L’Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée). The Research Network was founded in 2015 to stimulate research
into the history of language learning and teaching within applied linguistics internationally.
Building on several successful previous colloquia (www.hollt.net/events.html), this
international conference aims to situate the history of language learning and teaching in the
wider context of multilingualism across time and space. Possible topics for contributions
include, but are not limited to:

  • Bi/Multilingual dictionaries, grammars and other language-learning materials
  • Language learning and teaching in multilingual communities
  • Scholars of classical languages as learners of modern languages, and vice versa
  • Language learning and teaching in colonial contexts
  • The role of L1 in foreign language teaching
  • Polyglottism in the history of language learning
  • The role of translation and bilingual texts in language learning
  • Non-native speaker teachers in the history of language learning

All papers should be based on historical research.

If you would like to be considered for participation in the colloquium, please send your
presentation title, your name, email address, institutional affiliation, and a 250-word abstract
to r.mairs@reading.ac.uk by 23 February 2018. Those sending proposals will be notified of
the outcome as soon as possible after that date.

Further information on conference registration for those not presenting papers will be
circulated in due course.

The event has been made possible by the generous support of the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism and Department of Classics at the University of Reading. The university campus has quick and convenient transport links to London and Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. More information on getting to campus. 

Dr Rachel Mairs, Associate Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies, University of
Reading

Dr Richard Smith, University of Warwick, and Professor Giovanni Iamartino, University of
Milan, Joint convenors, AILA Research Network on History of Language Learning and
Teaching

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Why are languages missing from the Sustainable Development Goals?

By Dr Wine Tesseur, Post Doctoral Research Assistant in Modern Languages and European Studies

This blog has been translated to over 15 languages with the support of ‘The Language Industry’. See the translated versions.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to put the most vulnerable populations first and to leave no one behind. This implies communicating in a multiplicity of languages, yet the SDGs are silent on language issues.

Although proponents see the realisation of the SDGs as emerging from dialogue with vulnerable populations, it is unclear how sustainable, two-way democratic communication will be ensured.

The absence of any mention of language in the SDGs was the topic of a United Nations Symposium titled ‘Language, the Sustainable Development Goals and Vulnerable Populations’, held in New York on 11-12 May 2017. It was the second event organised by a Study Group on Language and the United Nations, an independent group of scholars and practitioners.

As a researcher on the project ‘The Listening Zones of NGOs: Languages and Cultural Knowledge in Development Programmes’, jointly organised by INTRAC (the International NGO Training and Research Centre), the University of Reading and the University of Portsmouth, I participated in the symposium and contributed a paper on the role of languages in the development work of international UK-based NGOs. I was curious to find out more about the work of other researchers as well as practitioners working on the role of languages in development. In this blog, I share some thoughts and insights on the discussions and debates that took place over these two stimulating days.

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CeLM Seminar Series

‘Fine-grained patterns of language use contribute to variance in bilingual language processing.’

Joanna John, University of Reading

3-4.15pm

‘Effect of socio-economic status on cognitive control in non-literate bilingual speakers.’

Dr Vishnu Kaleeckal Krishnankutty Nair, Flinders University, Australia

4.15 – 5.30pm

CeLM Seminars: deaf children

‘How do you read a language you can’t hear? Insights into literacy from children who are deaf.’

Mairead McSweeney, University College London

CeLM Seminars

Forum – Language teaching and learning

Discussions on issues related to language teaching and learning with the aim to bring together language practitioners at ISLI and CeLM members who do research on language acquisition, identify research agendas from the language teaching and learning perspective, link theory to practice and foster collaboration within CeLM.

CeLM Seminar Series

Development of a vocabulary screener for young children speaking multiple languages 

by Dr Claudine Bowyer-Crane, Dept of Education, University of York

 

The number of children in UK primary schools learning English as an additional language is growing. A consistent achievement gap is found in national assessments of language and literacy between children learning EAL and their monolingual peers at the early stages of schooling. Support for these pupils is vital.  However, in order to provide the right support it is important to identify those children who have a language impairment from those who may simply need more exposure to English. This paper will highlight some of the issues around the assessment children learning English as an Additional Language with a particular focus on vocabulary. Drawing on recent research, the paper will discuss the importance of assessing children in both their first and second languages and the challenge this poses for practitioners.  The paper will demonstrate a newly developed task for assessing receptive vocabulary in a child’s home language which is designed to be used by practitioners and researchers working with children learning EAL.

CeLM Seminar Series

“Intergenerational language attrition and loss in bilingual families in Europe: A threat to Harmonious Bilingual Development.”

Annick De Houwer, University of Erfurt

CeLM Seminar Series

“Bilingual reference production: A multifactorial approach.”

Jacopo Torregrossa, University of Hamburg

CeLM Seminar Series

” A Cantonese AphasiaBank with multi-faceted and multi-modal annotation of linguistic and gestural information of aphasic narratives: A database to facilitate cross-linguistic studies”

Anthony Pak Hin Kong, University of Central Florida