The next AILA World Congress will take place at The University of Groningen in Netherlands. The theme is "the dynamics of language, communication and culture in a changing world.
To make the conference more coherent, we have decided to have a new format. That is, AILA 2020 will consist of symposia only covering any field in Applied Linguistics. Once symposia have been accepted, we will open a Call for Papers, where individuals can submit to these symposia as 'strands'. Please read the AILA2020-Call for Symposia carefully and see the website for more information.
Deadline for Symposium proposals is May 6th 2019.
The current call is for the submission of a symposium on any theme within Applied Linguistics as defined by AILA.
The general call for papers will be published towards September 2019. Deadline for submission will be Monday, December 2nd 2019.
Keynote Speakers
The AILA2020 conference has 6 slots for keynotes. The opening speech is on Sunday August 9 in the afternoon and then there will be a keynote address on each of the following days.
After consultation of a fairly large heterogeneous group of experts, the organization decided to invite the following speakers:

Diane Larsen-Freeman

(University of Michigan, USA)

Diane Larsen-Freeman is a Professor Emerita in Education and in Linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Diane has been a leading figure in the world of Applied Linguistics for many decades. Her interests range from language pedagogy to grammaring and to the role of Complex Dynamic Systems in Second Language Development. She has published widely in articles and books and is cited extensively. For the Groningen AILA2020 organizers she was the obvious choice for the opening address!
The title of her talk will be:
From the 'What If's' to the 'So What's': Updating our Understanding of Second Language Development from a Complex Dynamic Systems Perspective
 

Carmen Munoz

(University of Barcelona, Spain)

Carmen is a leading and well-respected figure in AL in the European context. Her research interests include the effects of age and context on second language acquisition, young learners in instructed settings, individual differences, and bilingual/multilingual education. Her topic will be out-of-school learning and the potential of multimodal input (i.e. captions and subtitles) for language learning.
The title of her talk will be:
Multimodal Input and Language Learning
 

Qiufang Wen

(Beijing Foreign Studies University, China)

Qiufang Wen is regarded as the leading figure in AL in China. She is currently Vice-President of the China Association for Comparative Studies of English and Chinese and Vice-president of AsiaTEFL. Her research interests include second language acquisition, teacher professional development, and national language capacity.
The title of her talk will be:
The Production-oriented Approach to the Instructed Second Language Acquisition: What Has Happened in the Post-method Era?
 

Simone Pfenninger

(University of Salzburg, Austria)

Simone is one of the rising stars in our field. She has done important research on the evaluation of teaching methodologies and the age factor, but also more fundamental research on research methodology. She represents the future of AL at the conference. Her topic will be questioning causality in applied linguistics and she will discuss dynamic methodological perspectives on the future of inferential goals and causal concepts.
The title of her talk will be:
Questioning Causality in Applied Linguistics
 

Hans-Jorg Schmid

(Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany)

Hans-Jorg work covers a wide range of linguistic topics, ranging from semantics to pragmatics and from cognitive linguistics to language change, all from a usage-based view. He has a broad perspective on language and brings together contributions from various linguistic domains. We invited Hans-Jorg to present his Entrenchment-and-Conventionalization Model, a dynamic complex-adaptive model of linguistic structure, variation and change.
The title of his talk will be:
How Usage, Society and Mind Interact to Shape Language
 

Alastair Pennycook

(University of Technology Sydney, Australia)

Alastair has never been afraid to enter new territory. Over the years he has challenged many of the core ideas in applied linguistics, arguing for the importance of considering language as a social and political practice, with implications for many domains of inquiry such as the global spread of English or critical applied linguistics. Recently, this has involved a turn towards posthumanist ideas and southern theories in an attempt to understand the relations among language, things, people and place, and to rethink applied linguistic concerns from alternative spaces. Thirty years ago, he outlined a project for a 'critical applied linguistics for the 1990s'. His paper will revisit that proposal, explore what has changed since, and outline ways in which a renewed critical applied linguistics can be developed to engage with contemporary conditions and concerns.
The title of his talk will be:
Towards a Critical Applied Linguistics for the 2020s: Rethinking Our Field Again

Application for Grants
AILA aims to extend participation in Applied Linguistics across geographical areas not currently well represented in our association by offering a limited number of Solidarity Awards to scholars in Applied Linguistics who might be unable to participate in the World Congress without financial support.
Scholars who would like to apply for the Solidarity Award can find more information under Solidarity Awards. The deadline for the applications will be announced on this site and on the official AILA2020 website.
Visit the Congress website aila2020.nl for more detailed information about the venue and the conference.