The Consortium of Middle East National Resource Centers’ Virtual Language Workshop
April 8-10, 2021
Virtual Meeting, University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies

Field(s): Language learning/acquisition, language pedagogy, instructional technology
Subject Languages: Middle East Languages (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, and other related languages)
Call Deadline: 29-Jan-2021

Meeting Description:
The Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at the University of Arizona is glad to inform you that the Consortium of Middle East National Resource Centers’ Virtual Language Workshop,will take place online, on April 8-10, 2021. The title of this year’s workshop is Transformative Paradigms in the Middle East Language Classroom: Learning, Pedagogy, and Curriculum Development. The 2016 Western Consortium Middle East Language Workshop saw the importance of preparing language learners to operate in an environment enriched with digital technologies. The 2021 Middle East National Resources Centers Virtual Language Workshop seeks to build on this knowledge and examine the transformative paradigms emerging as we move more and more into the online realm. Transformative pathways in pedagogy go beyond instrumental innovations to address social issues and multilingualism in the classroom. During the first two days, guest speakers and presenters will present research advances and classroom practices in their contexts.

Proposals are invited for presentations describing research and descriptive reports on the Middle East language learning and pedagogy. We welcome presentations that relate to the following: approaches to curriculum development including genre; heritage-language learners; multi-literacies; language skills and instructional strategies; intercultural communicative competence; teacher education and professional development; and testing and assessment.

Guest Speakers:

• Dr. Yass Alizadeh (Lecturer of Persian, New York University)
• Dr. Emma Trentman (Associate Professor of Arabic, University of New Mexico)

Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should be in English no longer than 300 words and include a 50-word summary. Each paper will be assigned a thirty-minute slot allowing 20 minutes for the presentation plus 10 minutes for questions. No more than a single-authored and a co-authored proposal are allowed per person.

Deadline and Notification of Acceptance:

• The deadline for the submission of abstracts is January 29, 2021.
• Notification of acceptance will be sent out on February 21, 2021

Submission Link:
Abstracts can be submitted through this link: ME NRC Lang Workshop Abstract Submission and Registration.

Contact information:
If you have any questions or queries, please write tojellison@arizona.edu.