Call for Papers: Mercator European Research Centre

Shaping Policy for Minority Languages and Multilingualism

1st Mercator International Conference, 7–8 November 2024

Call for Papers

The Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, hosted by the Fryske Akademy, invites you to participate in the 1st Mercator International Conference on the theme of Shaping Policy for Minority Languages and Multilingualism.

The aim of this conference is to provide a platform for and to stimulate critical discussions on policy development for minority languages and multilingualism in various contexts, from the home to education. We invite presentations that examine language policies, practices, ideologies, and attitudes at all levels (international, national, regional, societal, institutional, group, family, and individual).

We welcome proposals for presentations from people of all career stages that engage with the themes of the conference. Postgraduate students and early career researchers are particularly encouraged to participate.

We especially welcome contributions on the following topics:

Inclusive multilingual education – the didactics of multilingualism
Minority language and multilingual education and assessment
Family language policy
Multilingual pedagogical approaches (e.g. CLIL and translanguaging)
Linguistic diversity in teacher training programmes
Parental involvement in language(s) education
Community perspectives on language policy developments
Regional and neighbouring language education
Linguistic diversity and (global) citizenship
Language attitudes and their impact on language policy formulation and implementation
Distance (language) learning – consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for multilingual and minority language learners
Bilingual and trilingual education
Case studies and best practices in language policy development

Target audience

Researchers, lecturers, teacher educators, pre- and in-service teachers, students, special education practitioners, NT2 professionals, social workers, youth workers, policymakers, and anyone else who is interested in minority languages, multilingualism, and language policy.

Abstracts

Abstracts can be submitted for:

Oral presentation (20-minute presentation + 10-minute discussion)
Poster presentation
Symposium – presentation of three contributions on an overarching topic, with an introduction and summary by a chair (90 minutes)

Submission instructions

Abstracts for oral or poster presentations should be no longer than 300 words (excluding references and 3–5 keywords).
Abstracts for symposia should be no longer than 1,200 words (excluding references and 3–5 keywords). Symposium abstracts should include a general introduction (300 words) as well as individual descriptions (300 words each) of the presentations.

All abstracts will undergo double-blind review, involving a minimum of two reviewers, in which presenters and reviewers are unaware of each other's identities.

Participants can submit a maximum of one proposal where they are the sole presenter, and one proposal where they are co-presenters. Please note that all presentations are expected to be carried out in English and in person. To submit an abstract, please complete this form.