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, the Colombo University English Language Teaching Unit  will hold its second International Symposium on Language Studies at the  Arts Faculty on September 28 and 29 under the theme ‘English as a Second  Language: Knowledge, Learning and Production.’   

Proposals for papers, poster presentations and workshops  are now open, and must be submitted before July 17 for consideration.  Proposals can be made under the themes of Language and Education,  Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Innovation in Language Teaching,  Translation Pedagogy and Language, and Power and Ideology. Proposals  must be submitted in softcopy and hardcopy formats and a blind review  process will be followed. For more information on the preparation  guidelines for proposals and registration visit the website http://arts.cmb.ac.lk/eltu/symposium2017, email [email protected] or call 112-506 705.   

Proposals can be made under the themes of Language and Education,  Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Innovation in Language Teaching

All submissions will be acknowledged, and those accepted  will be notified by August 7. 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.   

The keynote speaker at the event 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 Dr. Ramanujam Parthasarathy,  Director of the English Language Teaching Centre and Senior Professor of  English, Gudlavalleru Engineering College, Andhra Pradesh, India and  Dr. Hemamala Ratwatte, Senior Lecturer, Language Studies Department,  Open University of Sri Lanka.   

The keynote speaker at the event will be Prof. Diane  Larsen-Freeman from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

Dr Ramanujan’s fields of expertise include curriculum  development, materials design, ELT research -- especially classroom  research -- teacher education and journalism. And 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.