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Keynote speakers

Penelope Collins

Penelope Collins is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Her research work is dedicated to the investigation of language and literacy development among children and students from linguistically diverse backgrounds. In order to address the key challenge of reading disabilities, she is currently working on several projects promoting effective instructional interventions and the use of digital technologies at the different levels of education. Alongside her research, Dr. Collins is particularly involved in the education sector, for which she took part in the writing of various publications and reports. Dr. Collins is also a member of the editorial boards of the Elementary School Journal and the Journal of Reading Research.

Selected publications

  • Townsend, D. R., Collins, P. R. (2009). Academic vocabulary and middle school English learners: An intervention study. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22, 993-1019.         
  • Olson, C. B., Kim, J. S., Scarcella, R., Kramer, J., Pearson, M., van Dyk, D. A., Collins, P. R., Land, R. E. (2012). Enhancing the interpretive reading and analytic writing of mainstreamed English learners in secondary school: Results from a randomized field trial using a cognitive strategies approach. American Educational Research Journal, 49, 323-355.        
  • Collins, P. R., Hwang, J. K., Zheng, B., Warschauer, M. J. (2013). Writing with laptops: A quasi-experimental study. Writing & Pedagogy, 25, 1747-1767. doi: 10.1558/wap.v5i2.203               
  • Zheng, B., Warschauer, M., Hwang, J. K., Collins, P. R. (2014). Laptop Use, Interactive Science Software, and Science Learning Among At-Risk Students. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(4), 591-603. doi: 10.1007/s10956-014-9489-5.            
  • Schuck, S. E.B., Emmerson, N., Ziv, H., Collins, P. R., Arastoo, S., Wehmeier, K. F., Crinella, F., Lakes, K. D. (2016). Designing an iPad App to Monitor and Improve Classroom Behavior for Children with ADHD: iSelfControl Feasibility and Pilot Studies. PLOS One, 11(10). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164229.           
  • Hwang, J. K., Lawrence, J., Snow, C., Collins, P. R. (2017). Vocabulary and reading performances of redesignated fluent English proficient students. TESOL Quarterly, 51(4), 757–786.

Dana Gablasova

Dana Gablasova is a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and English Language and a member of the Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS) at Lancaster University, UK. Her research interests include corpus-based studies of learner language, spoken language, pragmatics and formulaic language. Her work appeared, for example, in Applied Linguistics, Language Learning, the Modern Language Journal and the English for Specific Purposes journal. At present, she is working on the development of the Trinity Lancaster Corpus, a large corpus of L2 spoken English, and on the Corpus for Schools project which aims to create corpus-based materials for teaching about social factors in the use of spoken English.

Selected publications

  • Gablasova, D., Brezina, V. & McEnery, T. (2017). Collocations in corpus-based language learning research: identifying, comparing and interpreting the evidence. Language Learning, 67(S1), 130-154.
  • Gablasova, D., Brezina, V., McEnery, T. & Boyd, E. (2015). Epistemic stance in spoken L2 English: The effect of task type and speaker style. Applied Linguistics (Advance Access).
  • Brezina, V. & Gablasova, D. (2015). Is there a core general vocabulary? Introducing the New General Service List. Applied Linguistics, 36(1), 1-22.
  • Gablasova, D. (2014). Learning and retaining specialized vocabulary from textbook reading: Comparison of learning outcomes through L1 and L2. The Modern Language Journal, 98(4), 976-991.
  • Gablasova, D. (2014). Issues in the assessment of bilingually-educated students: Eliciting subject knowledge through L1 and L2. Language Learning Journal. Special issue on Content and Language Integrated Learning, 42(2), 151-164.​

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme is Professor of Learning Technology and Communication in the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University in Milton Keynes (United Kingdom). Her research interests cover several aspects in the field of learning technology and innovative educational practices. Within this framework, a substantial part of her recent publications is dedicated to mobile learning, a new form of distance education promoting an interactive learning across multiple contexts through the use of personal electronic devices. The impact of mobile apps, e-book supported resources and collaborative settings on teaching habits and learning outcomes is given a special attention in her work, with the main aim of providing educational tools tailored to the challenges and needs of a changing world.

Selected publications

  • Kukulska-Hulme, A., Lee, H. & Norris, L. (2017). Mobile Learning Revolution: Implications for Language Pedagogy. In: Chapelle, Carol A. and Sauro, Shannon (eds): The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning. Oxford: Wiley & Sons, pp. 217-233.
  • Austin, N., Hampel, R. & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2017). Video conferencing and multimodal expression of voice: Children's conversations using Skype for second language development in a telecollaborative setting. System, 64, 87-103.
  • Traxler, J. & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2016). Mobile Learning: The Next Generation. London: Routledge.
  • Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (2016). Personalization of language learning through mobile technologies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
  • Read, T. & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2015). The Role of a Mobile App for Listening Comprehension Training in Distance Learning to Sustain Student Motivation. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 21(10), 1327-1338.

Steve Thorne

Steve Thorne (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Portland State University (USA). Dr. Thorne has also been serving at the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen (the Netherlands). His research interests include cultural-historical, usage-based, distributed, and critical approaches to language development, with particular attention focused on human interactivity in technology-culture contexts. He is currently working on a variety projects of international scope that focus on mobile media and place-based learning, technology use within and outside of formal educational settings, minority language preservation and revitalization, and interventions that situate language learning at the heart of academic education.

Selected publications

  • Thorne, S. L., & May, S. (Eds.) (2017). Volume 9: Language, Education, and Technology. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 3rd Edition. New York: Springer.
  • Hellermann, J., Thorne, S. L., & Fodor, P. (2017). Mobile Reading as Social and Embodied Practice. Classroom Discourse, 8(2), 99-121.
  • Thorne, S. L., Sauro, S., & Smith, B. (2015). Technologies, Identities, and Expressive Activity. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 215-233.
  • Thorne, S. L., & Ivković, D. (2015). Multilingual Eurovision Meets Plurilingual YouTube: Linguascaping Discursive Ontologies. In D. Koike & C. Blyth (Eds.), Dialogue in Multilingual and Multimodal Communities. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 167-192.
  • Thorne, S. L., Fischer, I., & Lu, X. (2012). The Semiotic Ecology and Linguistic Complexity of an Online Game World. ReCALL Journal, 24(3), 279-301.
  • Thorne, S. L., Black, R. W., & Sykes, J. (2009). Second Language Use, Socialization, and Learning in Internet Interest Communities and Online Games. Modern Language Journal, 93, 802-821.
  • Lantolf, J., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Thorne, S. L. (2003). Artifacts and Cultures-of-Use in Intercultural Communication. Language Learning & Technology, 7(2), 38-67.