The Call for papers is closed. Thank you for your submissions.
What Spaces for Learning and Researching Languages in the Digital Age?
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, major shifts linked to globalization, mobility and community participation now challenge the traditional definitions of second language (L2) learning spaces, as well as of spaces dedicated to research in the field of L2 learning and teaching.
These question the concepts of environment, time and space, or even negotiation of meaning and, in turn, offer multiple prospects for both L2 learning and L2 research.
The days when learners had to go from one place to another to consult information resources seem to be over, and the very nature and roles of L2 learning spaces may need to be reconsidered in many respects, e.g., in terms of interaction, socialization, mutual confidence and cooperation… Hence the following questions: how can we define and describe the forms taken by these spaces? What are their functions and their roles? How can pedagogical design and spatial design be articulated?
The digital world also makes it possible to expand the complexity of projects, and the study of learning processes related to this higher complexity is therefore becoming part of the research landscape. Such is the case, for instance, of corpus building projects which make structured and contextualized data freely available, thus paving the way for collaborative research work.
Presentations covering the following themes are particularly encouraged.
Language centers: physical spaces, virtual spaces, or hybrid spaces?
- What forms will spaces dedicated to the study of languages and cultures take in the future?
- What are the functions of a physical space dedicated to the study of languages and cultures today: socialization, interaction, mutual confidence, cooperation, or some other function(s)?
- The concept of presence and co-presence in language centers: Who/what should be present and why?
- What structures (e.g. physical, institutional, pedagogical, online) are best suited for language centers?
- How are the concepts of place, environment and space to be defined to promote high quality learning experiences and outcomes for all users?
- How do language learning spaces invite us to re-examine the relationships between enaction and cognition in the digital age?
Autonomy of language centers in the institutional environment of university clusters
- In an age of mergers, partnerships and creation of university clusters, what becomes of language centers? Are they absorbed by other structures? Do they combine? Are the trends the same abroad?
- What are the repercussions for staff and learners? What is the effect on related research?
- What feedback do we have from learning centers in terms of location, organization, impact..?
Language learning spaces and mobility
- Geographic mobility and information technology: What is the impact on the study of languages and cultures?
- To what extent do language learning spaces lend support to geographic mobility (European projects, telecollaboration, etc.)
- How do language teaching assistants and international exchange students contribute to language learning spaces?
- What impact do mobile digital devices have on the study of languages and cultures?
Spaces dedicated to assessment and certification
- Do new conceptions of learning spaces entail new methods of assessment and certification?
- What articulation should there be between teaching/learning and assessment/certification in language learning spaces?
- What role can language learning spaces play in certification processes?
- What is our perception of language and language mastery?
Formal and informal learning spaces
- MOOCs and language learning: How far have we come?
- What impact do social networks have on language learning?
- What potential interrelationships are there between formal, non-formal and informal learning?
Personal learning spaces
- Personal learning spaces: Developed by whom and for whom?
- Portfolios: How have they developed in terms of use, research, and support for professional development?
- What role should human agency play in establishing learning pathways?
- Are psychological characteristics and individual differences development-prone spaces?
Research spaces
- Do new conceptions of learning spaces involve new spaces for research?
- Is corpus-building a way of creating spaces for collaborative research?
- What impact do globalization and information technology have on language variation?
- Do university clusters entail forming new teams and redefining research objects?
- How relevant is inter-institutional research involving multiple language learning spaces?
Submissions should be uploaded on the Conference Management System by June 05, 2016 (extended deadline).
Abstracts should be approximately 2,000 characters long (not including spaces and references).
Author notification is planned for the end of June (after review by a double-blind scientific committee). Publication of papers presented at the conference is being considered for the online journal Alsic (Apprentissage des langues et systèmes d'information et de communication), according to the journal’s criteria. All papers submitted for publication undergo double-blind peer review and may be submitted in various languages, including French and English. (http://alsic.revues.org)
Contact : ranacles2016@sciencesconf.org
