Call for proposals

LESLLA 18th Annual Symposium

October 19-21, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona, USA

Focus on the Future: Surprises, Opportunities, and Collaborations

LESLLA invites all professional and volunteer adult literacy researchers, practitioners, and applied linguists committed to the advancement of LESLLA research, practice, and policy to submit proposals for LESLLA’s inaugural hybrid symposium.

Presentations will be either remote or in-person, and include a mix of theoretical and practice-based themes, as well as panel discussions and poster sessions.

Proposals should link to literacy learning and teaching, teacher learning, or policies that impact LESLLA learners and teachers. Suggested topics may include but are not limited to:

● Second language acquisition for LESLLA learners

● Pandemic-related teaching & learning (hybrid, remote, low-tech environments, etc.) in LESLLA contexts

● Translanguaging

● Role of volunteers in language and literacy support in LESLLA teaching and learning contexts

● L1 literacy and LESLLA learners

● Teaching tools including Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

● Literacy assessment, levels and placement

● Multimodality and multiple literacies

● Policies impacting LESLLA learners

● Health literacy

● Human rights and advocacy

● Refugees and asylum seekers’ inclusion in hosting contexts

● Professional development, teacher education, and/or volunteer teacher training

● Language and literacy for resilience

● Apprenticeship for language acquisition

Registration

Presenters must register for the conference (for multi-authored papers, at least one presenter must register). Registration for the conference will open in early April. Remote presenters not also attending in-person will only need to register for the remote symposium. Details will be provided via the LESLLA listserv and social media, as well as on our website.

Session Type Descriptions

● Remote:

○ Presenters submit a 15-20 minute video for viewing prior to the symposium. Presenters participate in roundtable discussion during the symposium.

● In-Person:

○ Demonstration/Paper Presentation (60 minutes): You and co-presenters will speak about a topic as well as invite comments/suggestions from audience.

○ Workshop (90 minutes): Presenters introduce a topic followed by hands-on activities for participants.

○ Panel Discussion (60 minutes): Multiple individuals present their experiences in a panel format with a facilitator.

○ Poster Session: Brief presentation & informal discussion with session attendees. Posters available for 60 minutes.

Proposals

Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA) supports adults (i.e., learners age 15+) with little or no home language schooling or literacy, who are now learning to read and write for the first time in a new language. LESLLA promotes, on a worldwide, multidisciplinary, and multilingual basis, the sharing of research findings, effective pedagogical practices, and information on policy.

An effective proposal will:

● Be directly relevant to the LESLLA context, as described above

● Offer the promise of new knowledge

● Stimulate discussion

● Be focused, well-written, and clearly organised

● Remote sessions only: fit an online, pre-recorded, shortened format

Submit your proposal here. Submissions will be evaluated by two reviewers in an anonymous review process.

Deadline for submission: May 31, 2022

Notification of acceptance: July 1, 2022

Please email leslla.org@gmail.com with questions about proposals or the submission and review process.