The University of Naples L’Orientale together with Federazione Nazionale Insegnanti Centro di iniziativa per l’Europa (FENICE), as one of the partners of the project "MOOCs for University Students on the Move in Europe" (MOVE-ME) funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, invite you to attend the Second International conference on "MOOCs, Language Learning and Mobility".
The conference will take place on 13 - 14 October 2017 at the University Conference Centre located in Palazzo Du Mesnil, via Chiatamone, 61 Naples 80121 in a central zone, near the Egg Castle, the sea and in close proximity to some of the best hotels in the city.
This second international conference aims to bring together higher education professionals, linguists and language technologists from around the world to debate issues relating to three topical areas of research, such as MOOCs, language teaching/learning and student mobility, by providing a forum for exchange of ideas, research outcomes and technical achievements.
Confirmedkeynote speakers:
About the Theme
The agendas of higher education institutions around the world seek to move beyond widening access agendas and towards a deeper integration into all aspects of the educational experience. This involves creating a more inclusive teaching and learning environment that better enables all students and institutions to achieve a fuller cognitive, social, emotional, and professional development, while respecting their individual and group identities. An ever more accepted model is the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that has marked a milestone in the use of ICT for education. The reach, potential, and possibilities of MOOCs are immense. However, they are not limited to global outreach: the same technology can be used to improve on-campus teaching and training inside companies and institutions.
Modern Europe is characterised by student and professional mobility. Whatever the reasons for moving into and within Europe—for example to take up studies, start a new profession, join one’s family, or seek refuge—proficiency in the language of the community in which the newly arrived live plays a key role in social and professional integration. The recent arrival of refugees and asylum seekers has added a further layer of mobility and has reinforced the challenge to develop pathways to integration for different groups of people. The increased mobility has posed significant challenges. Language testing and assessment has played a role in the way European states have responded to these challenges, with language tests being used in different ways for the procedures of governing mid-term residency, immigration and access to citizenship since the 1990s. This trend has also led to an on-going debate on the ethics, justification, fairness and usefulness of the role of using language tests in immigration, integration and mobility contexts.
Finally, students on mobility programmes usually have a B1/B2 level of language competence and they enrol in courses where they are required to negotiate the considerable difficulties of academic language and organize their learning activities autonomously and independently. However, competences necessary for everyday standard use of a language differ considerably from those required for communication in academic contexts.
The conference will explore three main phenomena:
The Conference will include:
Themes
We particularly encourage proposals on, but not limited to, the following areas related to the conference themes:
Scientific Committee:
Registration
Conference attendance is FREE for all presenters and non-presenting attendees but it is requested a previous registration.
The abstracts and papers submitted will be peer-reviewed by the scientific committee and the acceptance will be notified by 15 July 2017
All accepted abstracts will be included in the conference proceedings.