English in Higher Education in the 21^st Century

Venue & Date

Thursday July 6th 2006
CELTE, Social Studies Building (52), University of Warwick, UK CV4 7AL

Directions and Maps

Symposium outline

This symposium focuses on the roles of English in academic contexts worldwide, showcasing current research in applied linguistics and second and foreign language education. Particularly relevant themes for those involved in global higher education include: recent research into cultural issues in academic contexts, the description and analysis of spoken and written academic genres, the identification of trends in English language teaching, and the development of academic English skills among students and university staff.

Symposium participants will have the opportunity to experiment with relevant online resources (multimedia teaching and learning materials, searchable interfaces for academic text collections), meet people professionally involved in English language teaching and materials writing for academic purposes, find out more about inter-university links and research projects and discuss opportunities for international collaboration.

Invited speakers include:

David Graddol, Author of The Future of English (1997) and English Next (2006)

Luis Guerra, University of Evora, Portugal

Sabiha Mansoor, Head of Centre for English Language, Aga Khan University, Karachi

Wang Qiang, Professor of English Language Education, Beijing Normal University

Helen Spencer-Oatey, Principal Research Associate, HEFCE's eChina~UKProgramme

John Whitehead, Head of ELT, The British Council

Organising Committee: 

Sheena Gardner, Julia Khan, Hilary Nesi, Annamaria Pinter, Richard Smith

Key themes:

• Spoken and written academic corpora (including BASE and BAWE)
• Collaborative international research into learner autonomy (with a focus on Interaya)
• International projects relating to the use of English in higher education (including British Council Higher Education Link projects)
• Materials for the teaching and learning of English for Academic Purposes (including EASE and e-China)
• Innovations in English teaching in historical context (including reference to the Warwick ELT Archive)

Separate sessions will be arranged on each of the key themes, and the day will end with an overall panel discussion.

Who should attend?

This symposium will be of interest to:

• Representatives from countries where English is used as a second or foreign language
• English language tutors, teacher educators and researchers from higher education institutions overseas
• English language tutors, teacher educators and researchers from UK institutions, including universities, FE colleges and private language schools
• AC21 delegates with an interest in the use and development of the English language in higher education contexts
• Staff and students at Warwick with an interest in the use and development of the English language for the purposes of study and research

Abstract submission

The symposium includes the opportunity for poster communications. Abstracts for posters should be sent by email as a single-spaced Word document 12pt font, maximum length 1 A4 page. Details for electronic abstract submission Please indicate whether you would like to be considered for a travel grant (Max. £300). This will be offered on a competitive basis.

Registration

Registration is now open. Registration closes June 19th. Any late applications will be put on a waiting list.

Registration will be free for Warwick University staff and students, and all AC21 3rd International Forum participants.

Details on how to register for the AC21 Forum and other Research Festival events (see below) are available on the main AC21 website.

Associated International Research Festival

AC21 3rd Biennial International Forum, July 4-6, 2006: See Research Festival link for further information on Symposia on Health Wealth & Nutrition, Nanotechnology, Mathematics and Beyond, Sustainable Manufacturing, Global HE Research, Corporate Responsibility.