The Asian Conference on Language Learning 2017 (ACLL2017)

Dear Colleague, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) invites you to participate in The Asian Conference on Language Learning 2017 (ACLL2017), held Thursday, May 11 - Sunday, May 14, 2017. Submit your abstract by December 28, 2016 to join IAFOR and delegates from around the world in the beautiful city of Kobe, Japan. Registration includes admission to The Asian Conference on Technology in the Classroom 2017 (ACTC2017), which is to be held alongside ACLL2017 as part of the same event. This gathering of academics at the intersection of nation, culture and discipline promises a unique environment for conversation, information exchange and networking. Join us at ACLL2017 for interdisciplinary discussion around the shared conference theme of: "Educating for Change" IAFOR welcomes submissions to ACLL2017 from all over the world. We encourage you to join us in Kobe to share your research and knowledge in an international, intercultural and interdisciplinary setting. To submit an abstract for presentation or participate as an audience member, please visit the website or contact us for more information. Abstract Submission Deadline: December 28, 2016 Submit an abstract: www.iafor.org/cfp Visit the conference website: www.acll.iafor.org Enquiries: acll@iafor.org In conjunction with our global partners, we look forward to extending you a warm welcome in 2017. ------------- ***Join IAFOR at ACLL2017 to: – Deliver your research findings to a global audience – Have your work published in the Conference Proceedings and considered for the peer-reviewed, open access IAFOR Journals – Benefit from IAFOR's interdisciplinary focus by hearing the latest research on Education, Language Learning, Technology in the Classroom and more – Participate in a truly international, interdisciplinary and intercultural event – Take part in interactive audience sessions – Network with international colleagues **Register now to take advantage of Early Bird Registration and save over 20%. Early Bird Registration is open until January 31, 2017. Please see the registration page for details: www.iafor.org/acll2017-registration *If you have attended an IAFOR conference within the past year, or belong to an affiliated university or institution, we offer additional discounts in appreciation of your support. Please contact us at acll@iafor.org for details. ------------- ***Conference Theme: "Educating for Change" Whether we are looking at why we must change, how education has changed or even how education will change, change affects all of us involved in language education in many ways. Administrators, teacher trainers, teachers, students: we all wear many hats and we all come face-to-face with change, sometimes on a daily basis. Positive change is about improvement: improving proficiency, improving lives, helping learners achieve their goals and dreams and, ultimately, broadening horizons. In our work as educators we are often asked to effect change – that we are change-makers can be seen in the new curriculums, new material, and even new techniques or methods that we develop. For those of us who conduct research, our research is often focused on finding "better" or more effective ways of teaching often measured in outcomes such as students entered with an average of X and improved to an average of Y. In such a case, improvement = change! But change is also an area of research, as can be seen by looking at journals such as the Journal of Educational Change, Changes in Higher Education, Culture and Change, and Educational Research for Social Change, to mention four. It is a serious area of study, and one worthy of our attention. The focus of the last journal mentioned above is worth looking at in particular. Change is not only about test scores or proficiency going up. It is also about lasting change in one's life, life choices and looking beyond ourselves as individuals to the society we live in. Social change and a focus on improving our societies is another outcome of education. In recent years there has been a focus on language and identity. And there has been an embracing of sociocultural theory and language development. At the same time change for its own sake is not a good reason for change. There is often a tension between the status quo (which is not always bad) and the desire to change. As invested members of our field, we need to be able to examine change, identifying and applying that which is appropriate and will further our goals while also having the wisdom and gumption to reject change that does not make sense. As Dewey said, "reforms which rest simply upon the enactment of law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements are transitory and futile". And so we welcome you to this year's conferences, where we can examine change in ways that are important to each of us. What are its challenges, its complexities and its constraints? It is electrifying to think about the wide-ranging conversations we will have as we consider how we can go about educating for change the world over. ------------- ***About IAFOR IAFOR welcomes academics from all over the world to our interdisciplinary conferences held in Japan, UK, Spain, USA and the UAE. Our events provide a unique international, intercultural and interdisciplinary environment in which to hear about the latest world-class research and network with leading academics, professionals and practitioners. By facilitating dialogue between the world's academics and thought leaders, IAFOR has become a pioneer in providing the research avenues and visionary development solutions that are necessary in our rapidly emerging globalised world. We welcome you to engage in this expanding global academic community of individuals and network of institutions, and look forward to seeing you at one of our future events. To learn more about IAFOR, please visit our website at www.iafor.org. For enquiries please contact acll@iafor.org.