2007年12月9日星期日

EUROCALL CMC SIG Event

Computer-Mediated Communication and Language Learning: Research and Practice

University of Padova, Italy, 17-19th April 2008

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has taken on increasingly diverse forms, from e-mail, chat and online forums to social software (web 2.0) such as blogs, wikis and virtual worlds, from podcasts to desktop audio and video conferencing. These new forms of communication are becoming an integral part of modern life and are also finding their place in the language classroom, offering new modes of communication for engaging learners in authentic language learning experiences. It has been reported that through the use of CMC language learners can develop not only language skills but also intercultural communicative competence, lifelong learning skills and digital literacies, key competences for becoming active participants of the Information Society.
But to what extent does the adoption of CMC in language learning environments promote these competences and in what circumstances? What developments have been made in research into CMC and language learning?

The European Commission has proposed that 2008 be the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue because intercultural dialogue needs to become a lasting and visible priority for the European Union, Europeans need to acquire “the knowledge and aptitudes to enable them to deal with a more open and more complex environment”. By 2010, Europe is supposed to become “the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world” though digital illiteracy is still reported to be a persistent feature of Europe’s digital divide.

Within this European context, and in order to promote intercultural dialogue and digital literacy in language learning contexts, the Language Centre of the University of Padova and Eurocall’s Special Interest Group in CMC propose this Eurocall Regional Event for language educators on the theme of CMC and language learning.

This seminar seeks to address some of these issues by bringing together practitioners from European educational contexts:

  • to share examples of good practice in the use of CMC for language learning and intercultural learning in schools and universities
  • to present methodological approaches to and developments in research on CMC and language learning
  • to engage in discussions about applications of CMC in language teaching/learning and raise awareness of the issues involved
  • to offer hands-on experience of different types of CMC technologies through practical workshops
  • to provide opportunities to network and develop proposals for future research and collaboration

Who is the event aimed at?

The seminar is aimed at language educators working in university and high school contexts, who have some experience of or who are interested in using new technologies for language teaching.

Due to the international nature of the event presentations and workshops will be held in English.

Call for papers

Proposals are invited for papers (30 minutes) on the following subjects:

  • Internet-mediated intercultural exchanges
  • Case studies of CMC for language teaching at universities
  • Case studies of CMC for language teaching in high schools
  • Web 2.0 for language teaching
  • CMC and language teaching/learning - research results
  • Methodological approaches to CMC research

Please send an abstract (about 200 words) and a brief bio to francesca.helm@unipd.it

Important dates:
15 January – abstract submission deadline
10th February – notification of acceptance
28th February – registration deadline

Conference fee: 60 Euros

Further information will be provided shortly on the conference website and on the Eurocall CMC homepage.