EUROSLA 19
www.eurosla19.com
Plans are now well advanced for EUROSLA 19 which will take place at University College Cork, Ireland on 2-5 September 2009. Reflecting the prestige in which the EUROSLA conference is held internationally, almost 300 proposals for papers, posters, the doctoral workshop and specialist panels have been submitted by researchers working on all 5 continents. Competition has therefore been intense, and 126 papers have been accepted for presentations in the parallel sessions, reflecting a diverse range of research underlying the contemporary study of Second Language Acquisition. The conference will also include a poster session, as well as a Doctoral Workshop, which has become a staple feature of Eurosla’s annual conferences. The Doctoral Workshop will take place in the morning of 2 September. Two special panels are also being organised during the conference. One, organised by Ineke Mennen, will focus on the theme of ‘Phonetic and Phonological Dimensions of Second Language Acquisition’. The other, organised by Michael Daller will explore ‘Fluency and Language Dominance in Bilinguals’.
The conference will be open on 3 September, but will be preceded on 2 September by an International Roundtable sponsored by Language Learning on the theme of ‘Input Perspectives on the Role of Learning Context in Second Language Acquisition’. The Roundtable will bring together speakers whose work illuminates from a comparative perspective the impact of a diverse range of contextual and input factors on second language acquisition processes and outcomes in different learning environments. Confirmed speakers are Alex Housen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Carmen Muñoz (University of Barcelona), Carmen Pérez-Vidal (Universitet Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) and Pavel Trofimovich (Concordia University, Montreal).
Apart from such international experts, other invited plenary speakers at the conference will be Paul Meara (Swansea University, Wales), Aneta Pavlenko (Temple University, Philadelphia), Vera Regan (University College Dublin) and Ema Ushioda (Warwick University, UK). Taken together, their presentations will draw on their long-standing work in areas of Second Language Acquisition research which have assumed increasing importance, such as lexical acquisition, sociolinguistic approaches to SLA, bilingualism and thought, and the role of motivation.
Beyond the academic, the conference will also include a number of social events, including a conference reception and a conference dinner which will take place in the evening of 4 September in the university’s historic Aula Maxima. The conference also offers an opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of EuroSLA’s founding, inspired by Vivian Cook’s foresight for the need for such an association in a European context.
The conference will end in the late morning of 5 September when we hope many of you will stay on to enjoy the delights of Cork, Ireland’s second city, and previously European Capital of Culture in 2005. Founded in 1845, the university itself is set on a beautiful campus, located just a few minutes’ walk from downtown Cork, and includes a number of attractions worthy of a visit in themselves, including the Glucksman Gallery, the Honan Chapel, and the Ogham Stones on display in the university’ historical Stone Corridor. The city of Cork also offers a number of attractions, including St Finbarre’s Cathedral, the English Market and the Crawford Art Gallery. Beyond Cork, it is possible to explore the beautiful countryside and coastline, including Blarney Castle and the seaside town of Kinsale, Ireland’s culinary capital, both just a few kilometres away, and, a little further afield, beautiful West Cork.
The conference is jointly organised by Martin Howard (local organiser), Muiris Ó’Laoire (Institute of Technology, Tralee) and David Singleton (Trinity College Dublin).
We look forward to welcoming you to Cork in September!
The EUROSLA 19 Organising Committee!