LERC2026 Conference Programme
Two Days. Twenty-Four International Presentations. One Global Conversation on Language Acquisition.
31 October – 1 November 2026 | Online | All times shown in Greek Time (EET)
12 Countries | 25 Presenters | 22 Universities
Explore the complete programme for LERC2026 – The 7th International Language Education and Research Conference, featuring leading researchers, teacher educators and practitioners from universities across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. Discover cutting-edge research, innovative classroom practices and thought-provoking discussions at the interface of linguistic theory and language education.
Saturday, 31 October 2026
Opening Session
09:00 – 09:15
Opening Remarks
Dr Paschalis Chliaras FHEA
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Conference Chair – ALS House Education Hub (Education-Publications-Research)
Session 1: Language Acquisition, CLIL and Classroom Innovation
09:15 – 09:45
Explicit Instruction for Grammar Development in CLIL
María Nieva-Marroquín
PhD Candidate, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain
Focus: Form-focused instruction, morphosyntax development and bilingual education contexts.
09:45 – 10:15
At the Interface of Input and Interaction: Language Acquisition in Online ESP Learning
Dr Roxanne H. Padley
Tenure Track Assistant Professor (English Language, Translation and Linguistics - ANGL-01/C), Pegaso Online University, Italy & Visiting Professor, University of Oxford
Focus: Online ESP learning, interaction and second language acquisition.
10:15 – 10:45
Rethinking the Role of Literature in the ESP Classroom: Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence in Business English
Ana Rita Faustino
Lisbon Accounting and Business School, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, Portugal
Focus: Literature, ESP pedagogy and intercultural competence.
10:45 – 11:00
☕ Break
Session 2: Technology, AI and New Learning Environments
11:00 – 11:30
Exploring Greek EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence as a Support Tool for Students with Dyslexia
Christina Rapti
PhD Candidate, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Focus: AI, inclusive education and differentiated language learning.
11:30 – 12:00
Language Acquisition Beyond the Classroom: The Interaction of Theory, Technology, and Social Change
Dr Yasamiyan Alolaywi
Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Qassim University, KSA
Focus: Technology, multilingualism and social dimensions of language learning.
12:00 – 12:30
Which Tasks Provide the Most Information About Students’ Morphological Competence? Evidence from a Latvian Language Diagnostic Assessment
Elza Seile
University of Latvia
Focus: Language assessment and first-language development.
12:30 – 13:00
Developing Critical Thinking Through Communication
Dr Laura Furcsa
Faculty Head for International Affairs, Budapest University of Economics and Business, Hungary
Focus: Communication skills, critical thinking and language education.
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch break
Session 3: Digital Communication, Interaction and Active Learning
14:00 – 14:30
When Errors Trigger Negotiation: A Classification of Linguistic Error Types and their Role in Audiovisual Virtual Exchanges
Patricia Guill Garcia
PhD in Applied Linguistics, University of Valencia, Spain
Focus: Error analysis, interaction and virtual exchange.
14:30 – 15:00
Collaborative Video-Making at Czech Secondary School EFL Lessons
Rowan Samoilov
Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Focus: Technology-enhanced learning, learner autonomy and active learning.
15:00 – 15:30
Mediation in the A2 Spanish Class – Developing Critical and Presentational Skills Through Podcasts
Dr Diana Romero
Senior Lecturer, Columbia University, USA
Focus: Spanish L2 learning; podcast-based instruction; comprehensible input; sociocultural content; critical thinking; learner-generated materials; A2 learners.
15:30 – 16:00
Screenshot-Mediated Idiomatics Noticing in Digital Headline Ecologies
John I. Liontas, PhD
Associate Professor of ESOL/Foreign Language Education, University of South Florida, USA
Focus: Idiomatic language; digital reading; L2 learning; authentic materials; learner agency; incidental language learning; figurative meaning.
16:00 - 16.30
Pre-Service Preschool Teachers’ Views on the Role of Foreign Language Knowledge: A Qualitative Study
Rita Szaszkó PhD
Associate Professor, Head of Department at Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Hungary
Focus: Teacher education and beliefs about language learning.
Closing Session
16:30 –16:40
Saturday Closing Remarks & Highlights
Dr Paschalis Chliaras FHEA
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Conference Chair – ALS House Education Hub (Education - Publications - Research)
Sunday, 1 November 2026
Opening Session
09:30 – 09:45
Opening Remarks
Dr Paschalis Chliaras FHEA
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Conference Chair – ALS House Education Hub (Education - Publications - Research)
Session 4: Language Acquisition, Pronunciation and Speaking Development
09:45 – 10:15
Phonetic Challenges in the Acquisition of Romanian as a Foreign Language
Carmen RĂRIȘ-FIERBINȚEANU
University of Bucharest, Romania
Focus: Romanian as a foreign language; Albanian learners; phonetics; pronunciation difficulties; contrastive analysis; oral corpus; speaking competence.
10:15 - 10:45
When Textbooks Say Too Little: Teaching Conversational Implicatures through Corpus-Based Materials in Greek EFL Education
Dr Aglaia Rouki
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Focus: Pragmatics, corpus linguistics and intercultural communication.
10:45 - 11:15
Teaching TED Talks: A Study of International Students’ Perceptions of the Use of TED Talks in the EAP Classroom in Order to Improve Their Academic Vocabulary
Dr Cristina Ivanovici
English for Academic Purposes Teaching Fellow, Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Focus: EAP, academic vocabulary and authentic materials.
11:15 - 11:30
☕ Break
Session 5: Academic Communication, Corpus Linguistics and Teacher Development
11:30 - 12:00
Communication Diagnostics: Bridging Linguistic Theory and Research Communication Practice
Dr Marianna Oyanedel
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile
Focus: Linguistic theory, research communication and applied practice.
12:00 - 12:30
Cinema, Translation and Oral Interaction in Spanish Language Learning
Dr Dolores Barbazán-Capeáns
Columbia University, New York, USA
Focus: Translation, cinema and oral competence development.
12:30 - 13:00
Navigating Stance and Synthesis: A Learner Corpus Analysis of Spoken Citations in Online Postgraduate Multimodal Assessments
Dr Salmah Yaakob
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Focus: Digital EAP; online pre-sessional programmes; academic citation; oral attribution; micro-modelling; learner corpus; academic lexical bundles.
13:00 - 13:30
The Virtual Mirror: A Multimodal, Affective Approach to Scaffolding Remote Teacher Reflection
Dr Maricarmen Gamero Mujica
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK
Focus: Digital interaction, teacher reflection and emerging technologies.
13:30 - 14:30
Lunch break
Session 6: Global Perspectives, Multilingualism and Emerging Technologies
14:30 - 15:00
Response to Intervention for English Learners With and Without Learning Disabilities in Primary Grades: A Systematic Review
Kallie McDaniel-Zapata, PhD Candidate & Dr Dong-shin Shin
University of Cincinnati, USA
Focus: Response to Intervention (RTI); English Learners (ELs); special education; assessment practices; intervention approaches; educational equity.
15:00 - 15:30
Activity-Based English Learning in the Chinese Educational System: The Gap Between Theory and Practice
Francesco Michael Scaringella, PhD
University of Milan, Italy
Focus: Activity-Based English Learning; ELT in China; curriculum-practice gap; speaking skills; classroom practice.
15:30 - 16:00
Towards the Creation of a Multimedia Educational Dictionary of Soviet Cinema Catchphrases: Pragmatic Microstructure and Preliminary Survey Data
Mariia Kopylova
Erasmus Mundus EMLex Programme, MA student at Roma Tre University, Italy
Focus: Lexicography, pragmatics and digital resources.
16:00 - 16:30
Introducing Generative AI in Spanish 1: Scaffolding Writing and Reading Development
Dr Nancy Tille-Victorica
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, USA
Focus: Generative AI, Spanish Language Education, Digital Pedagogy, Reading and Writing Development, Technology-Enhanced Language Learning
16:30 - 17:00
Multilingualism as Funds of Knowledge: Reimagining Language Learning
Prof Kirti Kapur
NSTC Member, NCERT, Fulbright Fellow, Hawaii, USA
Focus: Multilingual education and inclusive language practices.
Conference Closing
17:00 - 17:10
Closing Remarks & Future Directions of LERC2026
Dr Paschalis Chliaras FHEA
Birmingham International Academy, University of Birmingham, UK