GSAAL Conference 2021

CONFERENCE Registration

***Registration deadline is April 9***

Register here: NAU GSAAL Conference Registration

Abstract

Worth a thousand words: The pragmatic functions of prosody in L2 speech research

Second language (L2) pragmatics involves both how learners use language and how they understand and interpret language (Bardovi-Harlig, 2013; Cohen, 2010; Culpeper et al., 2018). However, more often than not, how a speaker conveys a message is often much more telling than the actual message itself (Culpeper, 2011; Wharton, 2012). Prosody deals with this “how” factor and refers to the suprasegmental properties of speech which are superimposed over a linguistic message. This aspect of prosody is inherently involved in both pragmatic production and comprehension (Kang & Kermad, 2019). To this end, the current work is motivated by the challenges L2 learners face when conveying and interpreting prosodic cues essential to pragmatic meaning (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010). In this talk, I will report on a thematic collection of current research which explores the pragmatic functions of prosody in L2 speech production and comprehension. Several studies with a pragma-prosodic focus will be discussed, spanning speech act production in high-/low-imposition situations; comprehension of speaker intent across speech acts; prosodic patterns of refusals for multiple language groups; and listeners’ perceptions of appropriateness. As a whole, building bridges between pragmatics and prosody and between research and pedagogy can prepare learners to use and interpret a range of spoken cues essential to pragmatic meaning in authentic, interactive situations.

Call for Proposals

The Graduate Student Association of Applied Linguistics (GSAAL) is delighted to announce an upcoming conference to be held online on Saturday, April 10, 2021. The theme of this year’s conference is Building Bridges Through Language Research.

The goal of this conference is to celebrate the collaborative, co-constructed nature of research and create opportunities to share projects and interests among those who study languages. We are accepting abstracts for four types of presentations: (1) Original Research, (2) Works-in-Progress (3) Synthesis, and (4) Workshops. Interested participants may submit up to two proposals. We welcome the submission of empirical studies addressing any area of language research. Each author can submit up to two papers either as a first author or second author.

Please submit proposals through the attached Google Form no later than February 18, 2021.

Original research (20 minutes presentation, 5-minute Q&A)

• Original Research sessions present complete studies undertaken by the presenter(s). These studies may be published or unpublished.

• Abstracts should be up to 250 words long excluding references.

Works-in-Progress (15-minute presentation, 10-minute feedback)

• Works-in-Progress sessions feature incomplete research, presented at any stage of development (e.g., research proposals; Methods sections of upcoming studies). These collaborative sessions have two stages: (a) presentation of as-is research or research ideas, and (b) targeted exchange with audience members to receive feedback.

• Abstracts should be up to 250 words long excluding references, and should describe the kind of feedback desired (e.g., feedback regarding statistical analyses, instrumentation, relevance of idea to field).

Synthesis (20 minutes presentation, 5-minute Q&A)

• Synthesis sessions summarize primary studies to present a current and overarching picture of a topic in the field. MA TESL students are especially encouraged to present final papers written for their courses.

• Example session titles: “Working Memory and Reading Comprehension: What We Know”; “Changing Views of Second Language Acquisition”

• Abstracts should be up to 250 words long excluding references,

Workshops (50 minutes)

• Workshop sessions will provide opportunities for participants to share focused discussions and work activities around specific issues or topics related to language and language research.

• Abstracts should be up to 400 words long excluding references and describe the activities that will be conducted with participants.

Teaching tip (20 minutes presentation + 5 minutes of Q&A)

• A demonstration and justification of an activity, tool, or other classroom-related phenomenon that you would like to share with second and foreign language teachers.

• Abstracts should be up to 250 words long excluding references