‘English as a Second Language’, Int’l Symposium- Colombo University
View(s):The University of Colombo (UoC) Dept of English Language Teaching (DELT) will host an International Research Symposium on ‘English as a Second Language’, in September. The rise of English as a global lingua franca has encouraged more innovative, reflective and rigorous research into the area of Second-Language studies in Sri Lanka.
In order to provide a forum for such research and create a discourse around it, UoC’s DELT will hold its 2nd International Symposium on Language Studies in September this year. Planned under the theme ‘English as a Second Language: Knowledge, Learning and Production’, this year’s symposium will be held on September 28, 29, at the Arts Faculty of the UoC.
The keynote speaker will be Prof. Diane Larsen-Freeman from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. Prof. Larsen-Freeman is interested in the process of Second Language development. She researches English grammar and regards it, not only as a set of structural patterns, but also a resource for making meaning and adapting Language to the communicative context.
The plenary speakers will be Prof. Paul Gunashekar Dept of Materials Development, Testing and Evaluation English and Foreign Languages, University of Hyderabad, India and Dr. Hemamala Ratwatte, Senior Lecturer, Language Studies Department, Open University of Sri Lanka. Dr. Ratwatte’s current research is on the psycholinguistic underpinnings of learning and teaching a Second Language in Sri Lanka, cognition and bilingualism and, teacher education.
The final date of registration for presenters will be September 20, while an early bird option is available for presenters and participants, if they register before August 21. On-site registration is also available for participants. For more information on the Symposium and registration options, please check website http://arts.cmb.ac.lk/eltu/symposium2017 or, email irsels2017@eltu.cmb.ac.lk or, call 0112 506 705.