1st Call for Abstracts: Who needs languages? Micro and macro perspectives into language education policies, June 7-10, 2010

We would like to invite you to the international conference on Who needs languages? Micro and macro perspectives into language education policies in Jyväskylä, Finland, June 7-10, 2010. The conference is hosted by the Centre for Applied Language Studies, Department of Languages and the Language Centre at the University of Jyväskylä. The conference offers fresh outlooks on language education policy, acknowledging its multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature, and its social, cultural and economic dimensions. Where and by whom are language education policy decisions made, explicitly and/or implicitly? How do educational systems respond to challenges of multilingual societies? Critical views will be presented in order to understand the current developments and challenges of language education from both micro and macro perspectives. The conference is simultaneously the 28th International Summer School for Applied Language Studies at the University of Jyväskylä.

The keynote speakers are Joseph LoBianco (University of Melbourne, Australia), Clara Keating (Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal), and Sue Wright (University of Portsmouth, England). In addition, workshops will be organised by invited speakers. In addition, invited workshops are organised by Christine Helot (University of Strasbourg) and Muiris ÓLaoire (Institute of Technology, Tralee).

The programme of the conference consists of plenary sessions, invited workshops, parallel paper sessions, and poster sessions. We encourage participants to discuss issues which focus on the conference theme. Proposals for papers (20 min + 10 min for discussion) and posters should not exceed 500 words. The paper and poster proposals are submitted via the conference website (see www.jyu.fi/whoneedslanguages). The submissions open on October 30, 2009.

The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. Notification of acceptance or rejection will take place by February 28, 2010, after the conference board has reviewed the submissions.

We look forward to seeing you in Jyväskylä in 2010!

Conference website: http://www.jyu.fi/whoneedslanguages