6th Saarbrücken Conference on Foreign Language Teaching / 6. Saarbrücker Fremdsprachentagung / 6e Congrès sarrebruckois de l'enseignement des langues étrangères

English Section

Communication across Borders - Teaching, Learning and Speaking the Languages of the World 27 - 29 Oktober 2021

Conference Theme

Communication today may be more borderless than in any other era of human history. Whether via apps such as Skype, WhatsApp, WeChat or LINE, whether via blogs and Instagram - the connections between people on a linguistic level are more diverse today than ever before, and this development has sped up since the pandemic started in 2020. On the one hand, this development has favoured a tendency towards English - not only as a worldwide lingua franca, but oftentimes as the only language in which people of different mother tongues communicate with each other. This development may be due to linguistic economy, which should not be underestimated and which is perfectly understandable. This development, however, is presently opposed by another tendency which consists in supporting and promoting languages other than English that are perceived as important - not instead of English, but rather in addition to it. In some European countries, such as Great Britain, Chinese has been widely promoted for about a decade. In China, six foreign languages (European and Asian), from which pupils can make their choice, are presently offered in junior and senior high schools. These conflicting tendencies show that, on the one hand, communication has to be functional. This also means that it must be economical, so it may be sufficient for communication partners to have a single common language - usually English - at their disposal. At the same time, however, the feeling seems to gain ground according to which mastering a single foreign language will lead to a certain cultural impoverishment which cannot be reversed once it has gone too far. In addition, there are conditions of international communication in which both interlocutors are not native speakers or where only one of several communication partners has learned the respective language from an early age. The concessions that the native speaker - and also the non-native speaker - has to make in such situations oftentimes pose considerable challenges for mutual understanding. On top of that, the mutual (inter)cultural expectations of the interlocutors in situations of international communication and their behaviour need to be taken into account. In this context, an interesting question is whether - most likely due to the Internet - we have recently seen a phase of cultural convergence in which the different cultures are getting closer and closer and are even levelled out more and more, or whether the different cultures still know how to keep their own peculiarities and their own charm despite the huge impact of worldwide communication. Another question is whether (and how) foreign language teaching can promote borderless communication in classroom contexts, or whether, today more than ever before, foreign languages can best be learned through interaction with native speakers. This - certainly challenging - problem needs to be faced by today's foreign language teaching. The aspects described above and many others that are closely related to them are of central interest for the 6th Saarbrücken Conference on Foreign Language Teaching. They can be listed as follows:

Linguistic aspects of (international) communication
Developing the ability to communicate internationally in and through foreign language teaching
Communication-enhancing teacher-and-learner interaction
Communicative change - yesterday and today
Borderlessness and communicative change in times of the pandemic
Going virtual as a new form of borderlessness
Borderless multilingualism
Borderless orality and writing
Bilingual Lessons and CLIL
Communication by means of language mediation
Contrastive approaches for teaching and learning foreign languages
The role of (digital) media in international communication
Student and adult mobility
Intercultural aspects of cross-border communication
International aspects of languages for specific-purposes (research)
Autonomous forms of learning (e.g. blended learning, learning using apps) for the acquisition of foreign languages outside the classroom
Language policy and borderlessness
Borderlessness with respect to migration
Language philosophy and “borderless” thinking
Approaches to the conference topic in different countries and their educational institutions

(...)

The above list being an open one, these and other fields are of potential interest in this context, and talks in English about English on all these aspects are welcome.

Conference Chairman:

Professor Thomas Tinnefeld

6. SFT

Important Dates

Talks

(in alphabetical order of the last name of the (first) presenter)

A

Azzam Alobaid (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India):

YouTube as an ICT Multimedia Learning Tool for Enhancing ESL Learners‘ Oral Fluency (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Safi Eldeen Alzi'abi (Isra University, Jordan):

Arab Learners’ Difficulty in Correctly Stressing English Words Ending in “ate” (Abstract)

Yulia Puspita Arum (STKIP PGRI Jombang College, Indonesia):

The Effect of Online Extensive Reading Program on Indonesian EFL Senior Secondary School Students' Writing (Abstract)

B

Iratxe Serna Bermejo & David Lasagabaster (UPV / EHU, University of the Basque Country, Spain):

Translanguaging Practices: A Comparative Analysis of English Medium and Basque Medium Classes (Abstract)

Elham Barzegar (Iran Language Insititue, Tehran, Iran):

The Effects of Learning Styles and Input Modality on Iranian EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Jose Belda-Medina & José Ramón Calvo-Ferrer (University of Alicante, Spain)

Chatbot-Human Communication and Language Learning: Exploring the Boundaries of Conversational Agents from the Student Perspective (Abstract)

Marlena Iwona Bielak & Artur Urbaniak (Stanisław Staszic State University of Applied Sciences & Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland):

Cross-Border Strategies to Mastering Public Speaking (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Angela de Britos (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland):

Communication across the Sea: How Digital Technologies Support the Development of Linguistic and Cultural Identities of Spanish-Speaking Bilinguals in Scotland (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Anna Burnley (Flagler College, Tallahassee, USA):

Pedagogical Strategies to Diminish Concepts of Language Privileging Among Pre-service Teachers (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Ines Busch-Lauer (West Saxon University of Applied Sciences of Zwickau (Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau), Germany):

Digital Tools in the ESP Language Classroom – the New Borderless Teaching/Learning Normal? (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

C

Kebir Colmenero & David Lasagabaster (UPV / EHU, University of the Basque Country, Spain):

The Native Speaker Ideology under Scrutiny: Perspectives concerning the Minority and the Foreign Language (Abstract)

D

Ngan Thi Thu Dong (University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Vietnam):

Learner Initiatives and English Language Classroom Discourse (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

E

Rashit Emini (South East European University, Republic of North Macedonia):

Teaching and Learning English during the Pandemic (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

G

Cornelia Gerhardt (Saarland University, Germany):

Teaching Mediation with a Project-Based, Transfer-Oriented (Third Mission) Perspective (Abstract)

Bladimie Germain (Meisei University, Japan):

The Construction and Deconstruction of Temporality – The Created Border (Abstract)

Heidrun Gerzymisch (Heidelberg University & Saarland University, Germany):

Universal Communication as Translation and Interpreting (T&I) (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Thomas H. Goetz (Hokusei Gakuen University, Japan):

Which Border to Cross: A Comparision of Two English Placement Tests Currently in Use in Japan (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Boutaina Guebba (Ibn Tofail University Kenitra, Morocco):

The Correlation between Moroccan EFL Learners’ Attitudes towards Speaking in the Classroom and their Speaking Proficiency (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Meretguly Gurbanov (D. Azady Turkmen National Institute of World Languages, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan):

CLIL in ELT: an Exciting Process and a Rewarding Product (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Juan Francisco López Gutiérrez (Escuela Normal Superior Veracruzana, Mexico):

Enhancing Pronunciation and Fluency in a Basic English as a Foreign Language Course by Means of Video Recording (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

H

Eric Hagley (Hosei University, Japan) & Hülya Tuncer Çukurova University, Turkey):

Making Borderless Communication the Norm with Virtual Exchange (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Handoko Handoko (Andalas University, Indonesia):

Teaching Writing in a Blended-Learning Environment (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

James Steven Herbach & Kinsella Valies (University of Shizuoka, Japan):

Supporting Japanese First-Year Collegiates’ Confidence and English Fluency through Tri-sectional, Multi-modal Formative Assessment (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

J

Evelina Jaleniauskienė, Dalia Venckienė & Donata Lisaitė (Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania & University of Antwerp, Belgium):

Project-Based Language Learning in Higher Education (Abstract)

K

Pınar Kahveci (Gazi University Ankara, Turkey):

EFL Teachers’ Professional Identity Construction: A Narrative Approach (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Ferit Kılıçkaya (Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey):

Challenges and Opportunities in Providing Video Feedback in Online EFL Classrooms (Abstract)

Bernd Klewitz (University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), Germany):

Blueprint of CLIL – A Methodology of Bilingual Teaching and Learning (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Sylwia Kossakowska-Pisarek (University of Warsaw, Poland):

Mediation Activities and Strategies in Academic Learning (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

L

Andrea Rakushin Lee (Austin Peay State University, USA):

Examining EFL Students’ Views of Intercultural Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Abstract)

Zhen Li & Yongcan Liu (Education University of Hong Kong & University of Cambridge, UK):

Translingual Professionalisation: Theorising the Dynamics of Chinese Language Teacher Identity in Multicultural Schools in Hong Kong (Abstract)

Katja Lochtman & Vardit Granot (Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Belgium):

Brussels Students’ Attitudes towards Participating in Online Language Courses (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

M

Nadezhda Marushkina & Natalia Schelokova (Nizhny Novgorod State University, Russia):

COVID -19 Vocabulary: Etymological and Word-building Aspects (on the Basis of English and Russian Languages) (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Nicola Morea (University of Cambridge, UK):

Pre-service Teachers’ Beliefs about Multilingualism, Multilingual Pedagogies and Inclusive Teaching (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Marie J. Myers (Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada):

Language Teachers in New Contexts (Abstract)

O

May Ouma (Meisei University, Japan):

Enabling Cross Border Understanding and Cultural Competence in the EFL Classroom (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

P

Katarzyna Lidia Papaja (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland):

The CLIL Mindset: Investigating Open-Mindedness among CLIL Teachers (Abstract)

Verbra Pfeiffer (University of South Africa, South Africa):

Language Methodologies: What Is Good Writing in a Multilingual Class? (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Svetlana S. Polskaya (Moscow State Institute of International Relations, MGIMO University, Russia):

Applying CLIL for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Neuromarketing (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

R

Stefan Rathert (Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Turkey):

Local Coursebooks as Promoters of Teaching for International Communication? The Case of Upper-Secondary Coursebooks in Turkey (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Christina Reissner & Max Penth (Saarland University, Germany):

Communication across Borders — Crossing Language Borders (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Rodrigo Rodrigues (Liaison Applied Linguistics, Brazil):

The Importance of Metalinguistic Awareness in Foreign Language Teaching (Abstract)

Michaela Rusch (West Saxon University of Applied Sciences of Zwickau (Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau), Germany):

Best Practice for Language Teaching and Education – Media Application and Digital Competence as Critical Factors in Digital Vocational and University Language Teaching (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

S

Mohamed Smirkou (Ibn Tofail University Kenitra, Morocco):

Promoting Autonomous Learning of Pronunciation through the Praat Software Program (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Jozsef Szakos (Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan) & Ulrike Glavitsch (Glavitsch Eggler Software, Switzerland):

Come, Cross those Borders! Your Cognates Are Already Waiting Here… – Exploiting Multiple Cognates in the Pluralistic Language Class (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

V

Eugenia Gene Vasilopoulos & Douglas Fleming (University of Ottawa, Canada):

Epistemic Dependency in Global ELT: Problematizing the Reproduction of Educational Inequalities (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Thomas Vogel (Viadrina Sprachen, Frankfurt / Oder, Germany):

The Rationale of Teaching Less Widely Taught Languages in an EMI Environment (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

W

Nadeera Wijegoonewardene (The Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka):

Linguistic Landscapes in Sri Lankan Suburbs: a Study of Multilingulism in Nugegoda and Mount Lavinia (Abstract) (pre-recorded video)

Greg Chung-Hsien Wu (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong):

“Sometimes I struggled”: Integrating Language and Content in an Academic Literacy Course for Engineering Students (Abstract)

Claudia Wunderlich (University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany):

Corpus Linguistics in ESP in German Higher Education (Abstract)

X

Brikena Xhaferi & Gëzim Xhaferi (South East European University, Republic of North Macedonia):

Teachers’ Beliefs about Multilingualism at Universities in North Macedonia (Abstract)

Y

Fatma Yuvayapan (Kahramanmaraş İstiklal University, Turkey):

E-Feedback to Enhance English Language Learners’ Writing Skills during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Students’ Perceptions (Abstract)

Workshops

Effie Bachtsevana (Municipal Conservatoire of Neapolis Sykies, Greece):

Let’s Play Boomwhacker: Learn English through Music and Play (Abstract)

Cindy Blanco (Duolinguo, USA):

Language Learning on a Global Scale: Duolingo Learner Trends and Growing Demand for Accessible Language Teaching (Abstract)

Heidrun Gerzymisch (Heidelberg University & Saarland University, Germany) & Edmond Kembou (University of Hildesheim, Germany):

Universal Communication: Translating and Interpreting (Abstract)

Barry Tomalin (British School of Leadership and Management, Glasgow Caledonian University London, UK):

New Paradigms in Intercutural Awareness Training (Abstract)

Google Sites

Report abuse