Conferences & Events
53rd Annual International Linguistic Association Conference
April 11 – 13, 2008, SUNY College at Old Westbury, NY
ESF Board and Advisory Board members presented several papers at this conference.
Timothy Reagan:
- Good intentions and the road to hell: Language policy and language planning for sign languages.
- Globalization and language policy at the international level: The role of foreign language education in promoting multiculturalism.
Humphrey Tonkin:
Language policy at the international level: Toward a research agenda.
Mark Fettes:
Language policy and social imaginaries in a globalizing age.
Nancy Schweda Nicholson (Advisory Board member):
Language planning and policy development for European Union (EU) law: Efforts to establish uniform standards for interpreter services in criminal matters.
AAAS Conference
February 15 - 18, 2008, Boston, MA
ESF provided funding to support a symposium organized by former board member and ESF co-founder Dr. E. James Lieberman at the 2008 conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in February 2008 in Boston. The symposium addressed linguistic inequality in the scientific community and featured three speakers: Dr. Jose Antonio Vergara (Chile), Dr. Ulrich Ammon (Germany) and Dr. Humphrey Tonkin (USA). The symposium caused a considerable stir among scientists who had hitherto failed to recognize such language discrimination in their ranks, and reports appeared in newspapers across the world, including Die Welt in Germany and newspapers in Belgium and Pakistan. The US periodical The Scientist ran an editorial on the subject stimulated by the symposium.
PDK Summit on Global Education
Oct. 18 – 20, 2007, Vancouver, B.C.
ESF Board members presented at PDK’s 2007 Conference in Vancouver, B.C. The presentation abstract is provided below.
Getting Hooked on Language: Beginning the Process of Language Learning
Humphrey Tonkin, Mark Fettes, Ian Richmond, Grant Goodall, Bonnie Fonseca-Greber
We are inclined to put language learning in a separate category from global studies, but the reality is that learning another language is the quickest way to an understanding of human difference, and the best way to understand cultural diversity – both fundamental elements in global studies. But many students stumble as they tackle a second language, and many educators tend to downplay the importance of language as a factor in international education. While it is true that English is growing in popularity around the world, most people do not speak it, and many of those who do are at a disadvantage when dealing with native speakers. One goal of international education is the pursuit of equality of communication, leading to awareness that speaking more than one language is not just a good thing, but a necessity for a truly globalized world. Two of our panelists are from the US and two are from Canada. Two are language teachers and two are specialists in international studies. All have a history of thinking out of the box when it comes to language in an international setting.
5th Nitobe Symposium
European Languages and Asian Nations: History, Politics, Possibilities
August 2 - 3, 2007, Tokyo, Japan
ESF was the official sponsor of the 5th Nitobe Symposium which was held in Japan in August, 2007. This symposium explored the linguistic dimensions of Asian integration and globalization, and also provided a further step in the on-going Nitobe process. The ESF has been a supporter of the Nitobe process from its inception, and it has become an integral part of our overall mission. Additional information about the 5th Nitobe Symposium can be found here. Click here to access the Symposium's "Concluding Document."
University of Hartford Translation Conference
October 20 - 21, 2006, Hartford, CT
ESF co-sponsored a conference on “The Translator as Mediator of Culture” at the University of Hartford in November 2006. Several members of the ESF board and advisory board participated, and a planning meeting of the advisory board was held following the conference.
Additional information from the conference program can be found here.