** 2nd international conference on urban multilingualism and education, Ghent, 5-7 March 2015 **

[Stef Slembrouck]

Second International Conference on URBAN MULTILINGUALISM AND EDUCATION

Theme: Multilingualism in Education: Practices, Policies and Assessment
Venue: Ghent, Hotel/Conference Centre Monasterium-Poortackere
Dates: 5-6 March 2015
Website: www.smo-ume.org<http://www.smo-ume.org>
Organizers: Centre for Diversity and Learning, UGhent - Centre for Language and Education, KULeuven - LANG+, Linguistics Department, UGhent

Keynote speakers:


1.      Nancy HORNBERGER, The University of Pennsylvania

2.      Stephen MAY, The University of Auckland (public lecture on 4 March 2015)

3.      Elena SHOHAMY, The University of Tel Aviv

Call for papers: http://www.smo-ume.org/node/39
Deadline: 1 September 2014
Contact:  info at smo-ume.org<mailto:info at smo-ume.org>

The UME conference is an international conference which focuses on urban multilingualism and education. As part of globalization processes, and in the wake of successive waves of migration, the use of languages other than the local, official languages has increased enormously, especially so in urban contexts. The conditions of migration-affected multilingualism also come with a set of challenges for educational practice and policy.

The focal theme of the second UME conference is language assessment in a globalizing world. Worldwide, increased linguistic diversity is being assessed in many different ways. How does it manifest itself in today's educational settings - in schools, in higher education, in the workplace, as part of integration trajectories, etc.? How do policies inform practices and how do practices of assessment feed into policy formulation?

Language assessment is a multi-dimensional concept. At least two dimensions can be identified: the assessment of different actors whose linguistic functioning is being subjected to evaluation and the assessment of urban multilingual realities by different stakeholders.

The aim of the 2015 UME conference is to explore the dynamic interactions between these two dimensions. The questions raised include:

*         What are the implications of the contemporary multilingual realities for assessment in education and elsewhere? What are the implications for language learning in a range of settings - schools, workplace settings, integration trajectories, etc.? How are multilingual realities being assessed in different urban spaces?
*         What do various disciplines and research perspectives, both theoretically and methodologically, have to offer for the assessment of multilingualism? Can we identify new approaches and/or the development of innovative tools? How might these contribute to pedagogies which exploit multilingualism as an asset and as a resource, instead of treating it as a problem, threat or deficit?
*         How can occasions of language assessment offer opportunities for "valorizing" the everyday multilingual realities and potentials of students and language learners? What strategies can be developed for this?
*         Can alternative approaches to assessment succeed in providing a more comprehensive picture of students' and learners' linguistic repertoires and in this way contribute to better achievement, more well-being and an enhanced sense of self-efficacy?

The second edition of UME again offers a forum to discuss, compare and exchange knowledge and experiences about urban multilingualism and education by connecting researchers from various disciplines: (psycho)linguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, educational sciences, sociology, etc.

Piet Van Avermaet, Koen Van Gorp & Stef Slembrouck