Past Kieliverkosto events

Kari Sajavaara memorial lectures

The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies (Kieliverkosto) organises the Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture annually. The lecture is dedicated to the memory of Professor Kari Sajavaara (1938‒2006) who was a versatile and active researcher and actor in the field of applied language studies and language education policies. After a long career at the Department of English, University of Jyväskylä, he became professor and director at the Centre for Applied Language Studies, from where he retired in 2003. In addition to an internationally and nationally renowned research career, Sajavaara was also an active international networker and the co-founder of the European Language Council. Kari Sajavaara was Vice-Rector of the University of Jyväskylä in 1982‒1991 and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in 1996‒2002.

The 13th Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Fri 20th January 2023

University of Jyväskylä, Hall S212 in the Seminarium building

Professor, PhD Luke Harding (Lancaster University): New directions in assessing spoken language: Exploring communicative constructs

Luke Harding is a professor in Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University (UK). His research interests are in applied linguistics and language assessment, particularly assessing listening and speaking, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca, and language assessment literacy. Luke’s research has been published in journals such as Applied Linguistics, Language Assessment Quarterly, Language Teaching, and Language Testing. He is the co-editor, with Glenn Fulcher, of the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Language Testing. Luke has performed consultancy work on language assessment for various government and non-profit organisations. He was previously a member of the TOEFL Committee of Examiners and is currently a member of the British Council’s Assessment Advisory Board. Luke is nearing the end of a five-year term as co-editor, with Paula Winke, of the journal Language Testing.

In the occasion two Kari Sajavaara -awards were handed out. One award was be given to an academically distinguished and societally significant doctoral thesis in applied linguistics, and the other award was given for societally significant work done in the field.

The 11th Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Mon 25th January 2021

Webinar in Zoom

Assistant Professor, PhD Sofía Chaparro (University of Colorado Denver): Searching for Dignity through Antropoesía: Centering the Voices of Minoritized Speakers in Language Education Research and Practice

Sofía E. Chaparro is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver, where she teaches in the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education program at the School of Education and Human Development. Her research investigates how race and class influence ideologies of language development and bilingualism, as well as equity in bilingual programs in urban contexts. She obtained her PhD in Educational Linguistics from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. A former bilingual teacher, Sofía is originally from the border town of El Paso, TX, located between the United States and Mexico, where she grew up bilingually and biculturally.

The ninth Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Fri 18th January 2019 at 12 PM
University of Jyväskylä, Hall S212 in the Seminarium building

Associate professor Dorte Lønsmann (Copenhagen Business School): Language and work in transnational settings: Policies and practices

Dorte Lønsmann is Associate Professor at the Department of Management, Society and Communication at Copenhagen Business School. She works within linguistic anthropology and researches linguistic diversity at work, including language socialisation and language ideologies at work, language practices among blue-collar workers, social and linguistic norms in transient multilingual communities, and the implementation of corporate language policies. Her current research in the Transient Multilingual Communities project focusses on language classes and internships for refugees, and the surrounding discourses of language and integration. Her work has been published in journals such as Multilingua, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology and Language in Society.

Commentary: Professor Daniel Perrin (Zurich University of Applied Sciences)

Daniel Perrin is a Professor in applied linguistics in Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Daniel is also the President of AILA - International Association of Applied Linguistics. His research areas are in, among others, analysis of language in the media and in professional communication. Currently he is also a co-editor of De Gruyter Handbook of Applied Linguistics series and InJAL, International Journal of Applied Linguistics.

Further information like abstracts of Lønsmann’s lecture and Perrin’s commentary as well as speakers’ bionotes on Kieliverkosto's website.

Watch the recording of the memorial lecture here. Ask for the pathkey from kieliverkost(at)jyu.fi.

The seventh Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Fri 20th January 2017 at 12 PM
University of Jyväskylä, Hall S212 in the Seminarium building

Professor Anne Holmen (University of Copenhagen): The (Nordic) university as a multilingual site – A new perspective on academia?

Anne Holmen is now professor of parallel language use at University of Copenhagen and director of the University’s Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use. Until 2011 she was professor of bilingualism and second language learning at University of Education in Denmark. A main focus in her research is the learning situation of language minority students in mainstream classrooms from primary school till higher education, but she has also studied language policy in practice and carried out curricular studies.

The abstract of Professor Holmen’s lecture is available on the Kieliverkosto site.

In the occasion, the Professor Kari Sajavaara Fund gave away an award for a scientifically meritorious doctoral thesis and an award for socially significant work done in the field.

The lecture was organized by the Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Centre for Applied Language Studies.

Watch the recording of the memorial lecture here. Ask for the pathkey from kieliverkost(at)jyu.fi.

The fifth Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Fri 16th January 2015 at 12 PM
University of Jyväskylä, Hall S212 in the Seminarium building

Professor David Block (University of Lleida, Spain): Class in and for itself in neoliberal times: Advancing and developing a research agenda for sociolinguistics

David Block is ICREA (Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats) Research Professor in Sociolinguistics at the University of Lleida (Spain). He is Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) and holds two honorary posts: Honorary Research Fellow, Birkbeck College, University of London and Visiting Professor, Institute of Education, University College London. Over the past 25 years, he has published articles and chapters on a variety of topics, including globalization, migration, multiculturalism, multilingualism, identity, narrative research and second language teaching and learning. He is currently interested in the impact of political, economic, sociological, anthropological and geographical phenomena on multimodal practices of all kinds (including social movements, multiculturalism, bi/multilingualism and the acquisition and use of languages). In his most recent work he has focussed specifically on neoliberalism as the dominant ideology in contemporary societies and social class as a key dimension of identity. See a detailed list of his latest publications here.

The abstract of Professor Block’s lecture is available on the Kieliverkosto site.

In the occasion, the Professor Kari Sajavaara Fund gave away an award for a scientifically meritorious and socially significant doctoral thesis and an award for work done in the field.

The lecture was organized by the Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Centre for Applied Language Studies.

Watch the memorial lecture here. Ask for the pathkey from kieliverkost(at)jyu.fi.

The third Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Fri 18th January 2013 at 12 PM
University of Jyväskylä, Hall S212 in the Seminarium building

Professor Angela Creese (University of Birmingham): Teaching the ‘target’ language: questions of competence, legitimacy and proficiency in the community language classroom

Angela Creese is Professor of Educational Linguistics at the School of Education, University of Birmingham. Her research and teaching combine anthropology, linguistics and education. She uses ethnography to investigate ideologies and interactions in educational and other social settings. She is a co-author of Multilingualism: A Critical Perspective (Continuum, 2010) with Adrian Blackledge. She is a co-editor of a recently published collection Routledge Handbook of Multilingualism (2012) with Marilyn Martin-Jones and Adrian Blackledge. The abstract of Professor Creese’s lecture is available on the Kieliverkosto site.

In the occasion, the Professor Kari Sajavaara Fund gave away an award for a scientifically meritorious and socially significant doctoral thesis and an award for work done in the field.

The lecture was organized by the Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the Centre for Applied Language Studies.

Watch the memorial lecture here. Ask for the pathkey from kieliverkosto(at)jyu.fi.

The first Kari Sajavaara memorial lecture

Tue 18th January 2011 at 3 PM
University of Jyväskylä Main Building lecture hall C1

Professor Charles Alderson (Lancaster University): Explorations in Applied Language Studies: Homage to Kari Sajavaara

The first Kari Sajavaara Memorial lecturer was Professor Charles Alderson from Lancaster University. Prof. Alderson is one of the leading experts on language assessment, with significant contribution to the development of both language testing and applied linguistics in general. In 2008 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Language Testing Association. Professor Alderson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Humanities, University of Jyväskylä, in 2009.

The lecture was organized by the Centre for Applied Language Studies and the Finnish Network for Language Education Policies.

Language Parliaments

The network organises a Language Parliament, convening yearly to bring together
various interest groups in language education. A position statement is issued as a result of the discussions in the Parliament. The objective is to provide visibility to the field.

Language Parliament 2012

The third national Language Parliament was organized at the House of Science and Letters on Thursday 29 March 2012 by the Finnish Network for Language Education Policies, Kieliverkosto.

This year’s theme was lifelong language learning and teaching. The Parliament brought together representatives of teacher education, teachers, students, researchers, education providers, associations, and authorities to discuss the theme.

The Keys to Lifelong Language Learning are based on the discussions at the Language Parliament. They are meant for teacher trainees, teacher trainers, and practicing teachers to provoke thought and stimulate discussion.

Language Parliament 2012 – Keys to Lifelong Language Learning (Pdf)
Language Parliament 2012 – Keys to Lifelong Language Learning (Prezi)

Other organised events

International Conference 2016: CoDesigns. Envisioning Multi-sited Language Education Policies

The international conference CoDesigns. Envisioning Multi-sited Language Education Policies was organised in Jyväskylä on June 20–22, 2016. The conference was hosted by The Finnish Network for Language Education Policies and the University of Jyväskylä Language Campus. The conference was simultaneously the 33rd Summer School of Applied Language Studies.

The conference aimed aim at increasing our awareness of the significance of language related questions within education and the society at large. Further, the conference aimed at increasing dialogue between researchers, policy makers, practitioners and other actors in the field of language education. For more information, see the conference website.

International Conference 2010: Who needs languages?

The international conference Who needs languages? Micro and macro perspectives into language education policies was organised in Jyväskylä on June 7–10, 2010. The conference was hosted by the Centre for Applied Language Studies, Department of Languages and the Language Centre at the University of Jyväskylä, and it was simultaneously the 28th Summer School of Applied Language Studies.

The conference aimed to offer fresh outlooks on language education policy, acknowledging its multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature, and its social, cultural and economic dimensions.