About the Conference

Presentation

Teaching Western Armenian in the Armenian Diaspora in the 21st century means facing several challenges, from very theoretical ones (L1 vs. L2 vs. heritage language, acquisition vs. learning, language endangerment and literacy) to the practical issues (class organization, assessment, pedagogical innovation, professional development for teachers, Armenian as second language training for teachers, etc.) that follow from them.

Although these issues may be discussed in depth among specialists of language acquisition and teaching, the agents in the field (teachers, school directors, etc.) are still too isolated in their everyday duties to be concerned about seeking out and implementing research-based best practices. This is partly due to the lack of applied research specifically concerning Armenian language acquisition and teaching.

Goals and topics

The purpose of this conference is to bring together specialists of language acquisition and teaching, scholars as well as stakeholders of successful models of second language / heritage language teaching, concerning the Armenian language and comparable situations, in order to outline the priorities of an applied research program for the Western Armenian language today.

Guest speakers

Keynote speaker

Gil Schmerler (Bank Street College, NY., USA)

Scientific Committee

Sophie Alby (SeDyL, UAG)

Tamer Amin (AUB, Beirut)

Rima Bahous (LAU, Beirut)

Anaïd Donabédian (IRD, Inalco, AUB, Beirut)

Ani Garmiryan (Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne)

Christine Hélot (Université de Strasbourg)

Chaghig Hudaverdian (Haigazian University, Beirut)

Melanie Keledjian (Inalco, Paris)

Victoria Khurshudian (Inalco, Paris)

Bettina Migge (SeDyL, Dublin University)

Hagop Yacoubian (Haigazian University, Beirut)

Organising Committee

This Conference is co-organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Département des communautés arméniennes) and Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco), and co-chaired by

Anaïd Donabédian (IRD/INALCO/AUB) and Ani Garmiryan (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbonne).

Anaïd Donabédian

Ani Garmiryan

Mélanie Kélédjian

Victoria Khurshudian