Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos

14th International AELFE Conference

Developments in professional/academic communication and implications for language education and research

Bucharest, Romania, 25 – 27 June 2015 co-organised by AELFE - the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes,

QUEST Romania and the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE)

CALL FOR PAPERS - updated The presentation proposals already received reflect the growing interest in emerging trends in language education and research in the field of languages for professional and academic purposes. We are thrilled that through the presence of scholars from five continents and over 15 countries, the conference will provide a truly multi-lingual and pluricultural forum for focused professional sharing and interdisciplinary exchanges on all the conference themes. Considering that this has been a festive season and in response to several requests for an extended deadline, we are delighted to announce that abstracts can be submitted till 15 May 2015.

Confirmed Plenary Speakers: Maurizio Gotti (University of Bergamo, Italy) Christine Feak (University of Michigan, USA) Karen Bennett (University of Lisbon, Portugal) Nigel Harwood (University of Sheffield, UK) Sarah Aitken (Eaquals – Evaluation and Accreditation of Quality in Language Services)

Thematic strands: 1. Research in the field of languages for professional and academic purposes 2. Language and culture learning for better professional and academic performance in a global context 3. Innovative practices in LSP teaching and learning 4. English / French / German as media of instruction and academic communication: challenges and

opportunities of internationalisation 5. Revisiting teacher competencies and professional development 6. The Quality dimension of language education and language planning in Higher Education / Adult Education 7. Translation studies – interconnections between research, the relevance of academic programmes, and

performance quality.

Conference languages: English, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish.

Time frame: Thursday, 25 June, from 9.00 to 18.00: plenaries and parallel sessions; conference dinner at 19.30; Friday, 26 June, from 9.00 to 17.00: plenaries, parallel sessions, panels, conference closing; Saturday, 27 June: (for those interested) a one-day trip to Sinaia, in the Prahova Valley (including a visit to the Peleș Castle and the memorial house of the world-famous Romanian composer, George Enescu, in a scenery mountaineous region).

Key dates: Extended deadline for abstract submission: 27 April 2015 15 May 2015 Notification of acceptance: within one week after receipt of the abstract Deadline for early-bird registration: 25 May 2015 Registration deadline to guarantee inclusion in the conference programme: 1 June 2015.

Conference website: www.quest.ro/aelfe-2015-2/ Email: aelfe2015@gmail.com

PLENARY SPEAKERS:

Maurizio Gotti is Professor of English Language and Translation, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Communication, and Director of the Research Centre on Specialized Languages (CERLIS) at the University of Bergamo. His main research areas are the features and origins of specialized discourse. He is a member of the Editorial Board of national and international journals, and edits the Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang.

Christine Feak is a lecturer at the English Language Institute, University of Michigan, where she is the lead lecturer for dissertation writing and writing for publication courses. She is co-author (with John Swales) of Academic Writing for Graduate Students and the new English in Today’s Research World book series focused on the writing of research genres and subgenres. In addition to teaching and textbook writing, she also serves as co-editor of English for Specific Purposes, an international peer-reviewed journal focusing on topics relevant to the teaching and learning of discourse for specific communities. Her current research interests include academic writing in education, medicine, and business; the academic writing and writing for publication needs of scholars in developing countries; and the development of effective academic writing curricula.

Sarah Aitken has worked in language training for over 25 years. She has been closely involved in developing and managing international education programmes and quality assurance schemes in both the private and state education sectors, working with partners in Europe and Asia. Sarah has worked with the International Association Eaquals since 2001, first as an inspector, then as a member of the Accreditation Panel and now as Executive Director. She has overall responsibility for delivering Eaquals services which include academic projects and conferences, along with its accreditation scheme and consultancy services. Eaquals has accredited members in 30 countries teaching more than 25 languages, and its associate members include national quality assurance bodies, language examination providers and cultural organisations.

Karen Bennett has an MA and PhD in Translation Studies and teaches Translation Studies at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She has also worked for many years as a professional translator, specializing in the translation of academic texts from Portuguese, French and (occasionally) Spanish into English. She is also active in Translation Studies research with the University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies, and has published over 35 articles, 2 monographs and an edited volume.

Nigel Harwood is Reader in Applied Linguistics at the University of Sheffield, UK, where he teaches undergraduate and master’s modules relating to second language writing and research methods, and supervises doctoral students working on topics related to EAP/ESP. He has edited two volumes focusing on English language teaching materials and textbooks, English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice (CUP) and English Language Teaching Textbooks: Content, Consumption, Production (Palgrave Macmillan), and has published articles on EAP in various journals, including Journal of Second Language Writing, Written Communication, Journal of Pragmatics, and Journal of English for Academic Purposes. He is the co-editor of the Elsevier journal English for Specific Purposes.

We are grateful to the following organisations for supporting this international event and making it possibe to have such distinguished scholars as plenary speakers: The British Council Romania, Eaquals – Evaluation and Accreditation of Quality in Language Services, The Government of the United States of America. We are also building on synergies with the Grundtvig Project “QATrain” and professional partnerships with the Associations Lingua Economica and PROSPER-ASE.

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS We invite contributions in the form of paper presentations or posters on any of the above topics (but not restricted to them). Please submit your proposal in EN, DE, FR, IT, RO or ES, saved as Word.doc, .docx, or .rtf, attached to an email to aelfe2015@gmail.com, by 15 May 2015. Paper presentations will consist of a 20-minute talk followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. Especially welcome will be paper submissions presenting research (either complete or in progress) related to the conference topics. In addition, they should be interesting and academically of good quality. Poster abstracts are particularly welcome if they report on innovative research and/or on projects relevant to at least one of the conference topics.

The Proposal should include: the title of the paper / poster the name(s) of the author(s), their affiliation and contact details (postal and email address) the Abstract (300 words) the Speakers’ Biodata (max. 50 words).

Abstracts should include a brief outline of the research/project context the main objectives of the study reference to the methodological approach(es) the main results (or expected results).

In addition, please indicate: whether it is a proposal for a paper presentation or a poster the language of the presentation (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT or RO) the thematic strand it would fit best.

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed by the conference programme committee and AELFE panel coordinators. Publication opportunities: in peer-reviewed outlets, such as the volume with conference proceedings in the series "Languages for Specific Purposes and Teacher Development" (ISSN 2285–1623) or in a special issue of the double-blind peer-reviewed journal Synergy (www.synergy.ase.ro ). Opportunities for displaying materials: Participants interested in displaying copies of their work (books, teaching resources) or project materials should contact the organisers at aelfe2015@gmail.com.

REGISTRATION: Please observe the registration deadline. The conference fee includes: the conference folder, book of abstracts, refreshments and snack lunch on both conference days, and the conference dinner on Thursday. Please note that it does not include accommodation and the trip on Saturday. All the relevant details (including bank transfer details) are to be found in the Registration Form (formularul de inscriere), attached as Word.doc. The English version can be downloaded from www.quest.ro/aelfe-2015-2/.

CONFERENCE VENUE & ACCOMMODATION: The conference will be hosted by Academia de Studii Economice (ASE) Bucuresti, in the main building, in Piata Romana 6.

Since there are a lot of events and tourists at the end of June in Bucharest, please book early or let us know if you need help e.g. with booking accommodation on the ASE campus.

Conference information will be regularly updated at www.aelfe.org and on the conference website: http://www.quest.ro/aelfe-2015-2/ . For all conference matters please contact: aelfe2015@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming you to Bucharest / Romania in June 2015!

Elisabet Arnó Macià President of AELFE

Laura Muresan, Mariana Nicolae, Mirela Bardi on behalf of the local organisers - QUEST Romania & ASE Bucharest