Research Network Conference: Social and Affective Factors in Home Language Maintenance and Development (HOLM)

This is the first international conference organised by the newly established AILA Research Network (ReN) on "Social and Affective Factors in Home Language Maintenance and Development". The ReN was designed to have a broad scope which includes both formal (within school systems) and informal (community-based grass-roots) initiatives with the aim of researching and promoting home language maintenance and development. 

The conference aims at: 

• sharing and integrating knowledge gained from formal and informal initiatives in the topic area of the ReN 
• identifying challenges for home language maintenance in diverse multilingual contexts 
• developing strategies to promote bi/multilingualism 
• fostering collaborations both for research and outreach initiatives 

Conference themes include: 

• factors that affect language maintenance and development – ranging from micro-level (family language policies and practices) to macro-level (mainstream educational policies and their implementation) 
• dissemination – approaches to information sharing between researchers and communities 
• strategies to support and motivate families and communities to maintain their language and these strategies’ effectiveness 
• raising awareness of bi/multilingualism in mainstream societies – is bi/multilingualism seen as a threat or opportunity? 

Audience: 
The conference is targeting scholars and PhD students involved in research and/or outreach activities in the field of social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development. The organisers aim to provide a meaningful forum for debate and collaboration between researchers. The event will be an opportunity to consolidate and disseminate the activities of ReN members as well as attract further interest from the research community and other interested parties. 

Format: 
The conference will be organised around a format that allows for participants to engage in discussion. There will be three types of presentations: keynotes, full papers and speed papers from both scholars and practitioners. We invite submissions for both full papers and speed papers. 

Full papers: 
We invite submissions of abstracts of no more than 500 words on the ReN theme. Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously. Please remove all author information from the abstract and submit your abstract through EasyChair at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=holm2016 
Presentations will be for 20 minutes plus a 10-minute discussion time. Make sure you select the strand “Full paper” for your submission. 

Speed papers: 
The speed paper strand aims at providing participants with an overview of projects already being carried out or in development/planning. Presenters get 4 slides and 4 minutes to share their ideas and work. The audience has to the opportunity to provide relevant written feedback and comments. We envisage this strand to result in valuable targeted feedback for the presenters and to generate interest in potential collaborations within and beyond the ReN. To participate, submit a 150-word abstract through EasyChair at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=holm2016 
Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously. Make sure you select the strand “Speed paper” for your submission. 

Important dates: 
Submission deadline: 31 July 2015 (Prolongation possible) 
Notification of acceptance: 31 August 2015 
Conference dates: 12–13 February 2016 (Friday and Saturday)

Program Committee

Elaine Ballard - University of Auckland, New Zealand 
Jasone Cenoz - University of the Basque Country, Spain 
Jean Conteh - University of Leeds, United Kingdom 
Una Cunningham - Univeristy of Canterbury, New Zealand 
Lidija Cvikic - University of Zagreb, Croatia 
Annick De Houwer - University of Erfurt, Germany 
Viv Edwards - University of Reading, United Kingdom 
Susana Eisenchlas - Griffith University, Australia 
Liz Ellis - University of New England, Australia 
Lyn Fogle - University of Memphis, USA 
Natalia Gagarina - Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS), Germany 
Natalia Ganuza - Stockholm University, Sweden 
Diana Guillemin - Griffith University, Australia 
Aniko Hatoss - University of New South Wales, Australia 
Christina Hedman - Stockholm University, Sweden 
Päivi Juvonen - Stockholm University, Sweden 
Kendall King - University of Minnesota, USA 
Milena Kuehnast - Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS), Germany 
Pia Lane - University of Oslo, Norway 
Elizabeth Lanza - University of Oslo, Norway 
Sirkku Latomaa - University of Tampere, Finland 
David C.S. Li - The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong 
Latisha Mary - Université de Lorraine, France 
Janica Nordstrom - University of Sydney, Australia 
Bethanne Paulsrud - Stockholm University, Sweden 
Ingrid Piller - Macquarie University, Australia 
Anne Reath Warren - Stockholm University, Sweden 
Andrea Schalley - Griffith University, Australia 
Corinne Seals - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 
Robert Sharples - University of Leeds, United Kingdom 
Yvette Slaughter - University of Melbourne, Australia 
Christian Waldmann - Umeå University, Sweden 
Hua Zhu - Birkbeck University of London, United Kingdom