In Retrospect: LESLLA's 21st Symposium

We look back at three inspiring days of LESLLA’s 21st Symposium at the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic from August 20-22, 2026. The theme of this year’s symposium was “Bridging languages: literacy, plurilingual repertoires, new languages.”

The insights shared by our key note speakers Martha Young-Scholten and Mari D’Agostino can be reviewed in the recording/presentation slides which are now available for download.

With a rich array of online and on-site presentations and workshops based on recent research, participants explored and discussed the nexus between research and practice in LESLLA educational programs. The Book of Abstracts details the topics covered below:

August 20: https://leslla2026.github.io/book_abstracts_day1/

August 21: https://leslla2026.github.io/book_abstracts_day2/

August 22: https://leslla2026.github.io/book_abstracts_day3/

These insightful and engaging sessions include an online panel discussion on respectful and context-specific assessments with LESLLA learners and a special presentation focused on the impact of current immigration policy on LESLLA students and their instructors in the USA.

The edited volume entitled “Adult Migrants Learning Literacy in a New Language” was also presented at the symposium. This latest collection of peer-reviewed research highlights three main themes: LESLLA learners’ language use and learning in everyday life, L2 literacy classrooms and teaching practices, and assessment of LESLLA learners’ language and literacy skills.

The symposium concluded with a walk through the historic center of Brno and a visit to the Museum of Romani Culture. A few of the conference photos can be found on our Facebook page.

The proceedings of this symposium are expected to be published later in 2027. Proceedings from the previous LESLLA symposia can be found at: https://lesllasp.journals.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/lesllasp/issue/archive

Thanks again to past LESLLA president, Egle Mocciaro and the organising committee for LESLLA 2026. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for LESLLA 2027 in Malta!