2022 Call for Proposals

March 19 - 22, 2022
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Call for Proposals

The 2022 conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,, at the Omni William Penn Hotel, March 19-22, 2022. The theme of the conference is “Applied Linguistics in Times of Reckoning and Change.”

Nationally and internationally, the AAAL conference has a reputation as a comprehensive and stimulating conference. Conference participants can look forward to in-depth colloquia, paper, poster, and round-table sessions, as well as topical and thought-provoking plenary presentations, excellent book exhibits, and plentiful opportunities for networking.

Please note a new strand for 2022, Antiracism, Decolonization, and Intersectionality for Systemic Transformation (ADIST). Proposals supporting and addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are encouraged across all strands as relevant.

Table of Contents

  1. Plenary Speaker and Invited Colloquia Information
  2. Strands
  3. Proposals
    1. Individual Papers
    2. Posters
    3. Roundtable Discussions
    4. Colloquia
  4. Proposal Format
  5. Evaluation of Proposals
  6. Proposal Policies
  7. Submission Process
  8. Requests for Meeting Spaces
  9. AAAL Travel Policy

The Call for Proposals is Opening Soon.

Submission Deadline: July 21, 2021, 4:00 pm EDT

Acceptance/Rejection emails will be sent out in mid-October 2021.

Click Here to Submit a Proposal

You must have a AAAL Account to submit a proposal. Current members, past members, and past guests may log in here. If you are new to AAAL and would like to submit a proposal without becoming an AAAL member, please click here to create a guest account.

Plenary Speaker and Invited Colloquia Information

We have created an exciting program for the 2022 conference, reflecting the wide range of research interests in applied linguistics. Check out the plenary speakers and invited colloquia below: 

Plenary Speakers

Uju Anya, The Pennsylvania State University
Critical Race Pedagogy for More Effective and Inclusive World Language Teaching

Rodrigo Borba, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Animating Other Wor(l)ds: Trans*formations of Language and Social Justice

Keiko Koda, Carnegie Mellon University
Explaining Second Language Reading Development: Linguistic Constraints on Crosslinguistic Interactions

Tiffany S. Lee, University of New Mexico
Pedagogies of K’é (Kinship) and Activism for Ensuring Indigenous Futures and Wellbeing

Glenn Martinez, The Ohio State University
Pandemia, Public Health, and Applied Linguistics: Reflections on Language and Latino Health in and beyond los tiempos del COVID

Hossein Nassaji, University of Victoria, Canada
Current Advances in instructed SLA: Issues and Challenges

Invited Colloquia

We have 5 invited colloquia confirmed, stay tuned for more soon!

Interpreting scholars and applied linguists joining forces and crossing boundaries

Convened by Claudia Angelelli

Social, racial, and economic justice in applied linguistics and beyond: What is to be done?

Convened by Christian W. Chun

Writing for publication globally: Evaluation regimes, knowledges, professional practices

Convened by Mary Jane Curry & Theresa Lillis

Epistemic justice and languaging: A critique of hegemonic thinking, essentialisms and labelling language

Convened by Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta

Bringing underrepresented populations into focus in SLA: Challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned

Convened by Aline Godfroid & Sible Andringa

Workshops

We have 1 preconference workshop confirmed, stay tuned for more soon!

 

Using 3D virtual reality to promote critical language and cultural global competence: A one-day workshop on research, teaching, and design

Conducted by Sébastien Dubreil & Stephan Caspar at the Askwith Kenner Global Languages and Cultures Room on the Carnegie Mellon campus (Friday March 18, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Strands

Proposals are welcome in the following topic strands:

You must select a primary strand for your submission. This is the strand in which your submission will very likely be reviewed and grouped. If applicable, please choose a secondary strand that also characterizes the submission. This will help conference organizers in preparing the conference program and in some instances, balancing the size and coherence of strands. You must choose a primary strand; the selection of a secondary strand is optional (but recommended).

Proposals

Proposals are invited for individual papers, colloquia, posters, and roundtable discussions. The deadline for proposal submission is 4:00 p.m. on July 21, 2022 (EDT; UTC-4). If you need to renew your membership or create a guest account, you should do so at least 3 hours before the submission deadline to allow for changes to take place in the system. Requests relating to membership or guest accounts later than this may mean that you are unable to submit your abstract by the deadline. 

Abstract submissions for our conference, March 19-22, 2022, are invited from June 8 to July 21.  As per AAAL’s Standing Rule 17, individuals may submit a maximum of one abstract as first author, whether a paper (including papers presented in a colloquium), a poster, or a roundtable session. An individual who is submitting as first author may also appear in other submissions in the additional role of a colloquium organizer or a discussant. There is no limit on submitting as a co-author/co-presenter of another paper, provided they are not first author. 

INDIVIDUAL PAPERS: Papers are formal presentations on a contribution of original knowledge by one or more authors within a thirty-minute period, including 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion.

POSTERS: Posters are especially effective for information that can be presented visually (e.g. charts, graphs, tables, diagrams). Prospective presenters are encouraged to consider posters, because of the opportunity they provide for extended discussion with other researchers.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS: Roundtable discussions are an opportunity for informal, in-depth discussions between presenters and attendees on a specific topic. They are particularly well suited for works-in-progress and are not meant to be formal paper presentations.  The purpose is not to present on a finished project but rather to address a specific topic in such a way as to engender whole-group discussion.  The advantage of roundtable sessions is that they allow for stimulating conversations and networking opportunities among participants on shared research interests.

Presenters will be allocated 30 minutes: 10-15 minutes to speak on their topic and 15-20 minutes for group discussion. There will be a time-keeper assigned to each roundtable session.  

COLLOQUIA: Colloquia allow for extended discussion on a particular topic, achieved through the organization of individual presentations that are clearly linked to the colloquium theme and to each other.  A number of colloquia are invited by the conference chair, but most are proposed by AAAL members. Proposals for colloquia can be for either a one-hour or two-hour block of time. 

Two-hour colloquia: The number of presenters and length of each presentation is left up to discretion of the colloquium organizer, as is the decision to include one or more discussants.  Because the purpose of this format is to foster dialogue among attendees, generous time allowance should be made throughout the colloquium for extended audience discussion of the papers presented. Colloquium proposers should, in addition to describing the content to be discussed and the coherence across the individual papers/presentations, state how time will be allocated across paper presentations, discussant remarks (optional), and audience discussion; this should be done without identifying presenters by name in order to preserve anonymity.

One-hour colloquia: One-hour colloquia consist of three individual 10-minute papers within a one-hour time slot proposed by the colloquium organizer(s). Like the 2-hr colloquium proposals, the papers should be closely connected to the same topic. A discussant may (or may not) be invited to provide some brief remarks. Each paper is typically allocated up to two minutes for clarification questions, followed by brief discussant comments (if any), leaving approximately 10 minutes for general discussion.

The advantage of a 1-hour colloquium is that the AAAL program can potentially accommodate more of these than 2-hour sessions and they allow for a more concise presentation of topics and accommodate more presenters at AAAL.

For both 2-hour and 1-hour colloquia, their organizers are responsible to submit the proposal on behalf of all colloquium participants and they serve as the liaisons between participants in the colloquium and the AAAL conference program committee. Colloquia organizers and are therefore also responsible for all communication among the presenters and discussants.

Proposal Format

Please note the following word limits for all proposal types, including the colloquia components:

Title: 15 words (please use sentence case)
Abstract: 300 words

  1. Please note that for a colloquium proposal:
    The primary colloquium organizer must provide an overview of the entire colloquium, including title (15 words) and abstract (300 words), as well as information about the format/timing of presentation and discussion as noted above.
  2. Each individual panelist must also provide a title (15 words) and abstract (300 words) for their paper in the colloquium to the organizer.  
  3. Each colloquium submission must be done by the colloquium organizer, who should prepare and submit a title and abstract for the colloquium and titles and abstracts for the presentations within it. It is also important that the organizer have the names, affiliations, and emails of all speakers participating in the proposed colloquium, for submission into the system.

Evaluation of Proposals

All proposals are evaluated through blind peer review by several reviewers. Each submission is rated by reviewers independently according to the criteria shown in this Table:

Criteria

Reviewer Response Options

Appropriateness and Importance of the Topic/Issue/Problem 

1 (poor) - 6 (excellent)

Original Research with Theoretical Basis

1 (poor) - 6 (excellent)

Research Design / Conceptual Framework

1 (poor) - 6 (excellent)

Organization and Clarity of Abstract

1 (poor) - 6 (excellent)

Overall Numerical Rating

Average of the first 4 criteria

Potential to Contribute to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (select one)

Yes, No

Overall recommendation (select one)

Accept, Accept if Space, Reject

Comments

Open-ended feedback for the submitter

 

The rationale for these criteria is as follows:

  • The topic/issue/problem is appropriate and important
  • The research is original and motivated by solid theories
  • If an empirical study, the research design is of high quality and sufficiently explained, including clearly stated questions, data sources, data collection procedures, and analytic approach
  • If a conceptual study, the conceptual framework is of high quality and sufficiently explained, including integration of topic into current thinking, clear exposition of treatment of topic, and meaningful connections to the relevant research communities
  • Abstract is written in an organized and clear style (indicative of a clear and well-organized presentation)
  • In addition, whenever possible and relevant, the research has potential to contribute to AAAL’s values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access

As indicated in the Table above, each reviewer also makes a holistic recommendation to accept, accept if there is space, or reject; and they are encouraged but not required to offer open-ended feedback for the submitter.

Final decisions are made by the Conference Program Team based on: (a) the responses across categories (Table above) provided by the reviewers on a given submission, (b) the overall global recommendation by Strand Coordinators, and (c) available space at the conference and balance across strands.

Additional Evaluation Criteria by Submission Type

Proposals for Roundtable Sessions will also be evaluated for:

  • Clarity of objectives and intended outcomes of the session
  • Methods planned to engage participants in the discussion

Proposals for 2-hour and 1-hour Colloquia will also be evaluated for each of the following categories:

  • Appropriateness and significance of the topic
  • Presentation of original and on-going research studies OR differing or dissenting perspectives on an important issue
  • Coherence and complementarity of the papers
  • Manner of presentation
    • Two-Hour Colloquia: clearly indicated schedule of activity with significant amounts of time allocated for discussion of the presentations and audience participation)
    • One-Hour Colloquia: i) three clearly indicated separate papers, each with content that lends itself to a 10-minute presentation; ii) a colloquium organizer (who must be one or more of the authors of the individual papers); and iii) a clearly indicated schedule that allows for a minimum of 20 minutes of discussion following the presentation of the three papers

Please note that if colloquia are accepted, the schedule of activity, including the order of presentations, will appear in the conference program as listed in the proposal and must be respected in the actual presentation of papers.

Proposal Policies

Individuals may submit a maximum of one abstract as first author, whether a paper (including papers presented in a colloquium), a poster, or a roundtable session. This means that an individual can only appear once as a first author on the program. 

The first author is considered the presenting author and must register for the conference. While first authors are expected to present the research bearing their name, all authors are encouraged to attend the conference and share in the presentation of co-authored research.

An individual may take on an additional role as a colloquium organizer or discussant, in addition to submitting (only) one proposal as first author. NOTE: the same person can serve as a discussant on only one colloquium at the conference. If asked to serve as a discussant on multiple colloquia, we request that the person choose one and decline other such discussant roles. For papers, an individual may also appear as a co-author/co-presenter of another paper, provided they are not first author.

All proposals (for individual papers, posters, roundtable sessions, and colloquia) must represent original and unpublished work that is not yet available to the AAAL membership (with the exception of material from publications in press).

Proposals for all presentation formats will be double-blind peer-reviewed. Please ensure that any reference made to your previous work within the proposal does not include self-reference information that clearly identifies you or one of your co-authors. Avoid, for example, statements such as In a previous study, we (YOURNAME, date). Any proposal that does not respect the blind review format will be rejected.

Accepted presenters who know that they cannot attend the conference are asked to withdraw their proposals as soon as possible to give another presenter a place on the program. If unforeseen circumstances at the last minute dictate that a presenter cannot attend the conference, a substitute will be permitted.

The author’s confirmation of attendance and presentation signifies that the author will present the paper on the day and time assigned by the conference program committee. AAAL will not respond to or consider requests for a specific time slot.

Submission Process

Before submitting a proposal, please read the brief descriptors for each strand, which are available through the Call for Proposals on the AAAL website. Try to submit your proposal to the strand that most closely relates to your main theme. If you are unsure, please ask a colleague, professor, or supervisor who is familiar with AAAL Conference procedures.

Before submitting a proposal, remember to check your membership status, since you need to be either a member or create a guest account in order to submit your proposal. PLEASE REMEMBER: If you need to renew your membership or create a guest account, you must do so at least 3 hours before the submission deadline.  Requests relating to membership or guest accounts later than this may mean that you are unable to submit your abstract by the deadline.

Requests for Meeting Spaces

Individuals or groups wishing to use rooms at the conference venue for meetings outside the conference program should make their requests using the Meeting Request Form, which will be automatically submitted to the conference team, no later than 11:59 p.m. on December 1, 2022 (EDT; UTC-4).  Such meeting spaces may be required for closed sessions with journal editors, editorial board meetings, to honor a colleague in retirement or passing, and other networking opportunities. Requests for meetings will be considered within the inevitable constraints of time and space available.

AAAL Travel Policy

As stated in the AAAL's Standing Rule 17: 

Adjudicated conference presentations may not be done solely by telecommunication procedures; at least one co-author must be physically present at the conference.

i. Although in-person participation is prioritized, exceptions to this policy will be made in certain cases to allow for submission of a voice over PPT and speaker phone for Q&A segment with the session to be managed by a volunteer designated by the presenter who must be absent. Only if this is not possible, will the Conference Team designate a conference volunteer to do the task. These accommodations may be made in the following circumstances, with supporting documentation of eligibility:

1. Medical circumstance of self or immediate family member which prevents travel
2. Denial or rejection of visa beyond a time frame which reasonably allows for travel accommodations to the conference, at the Conference Chair’s discretion
3. Citizenship of or current residence in a “travel ban” country

In 2022, travel may still pose difficulties for some presenters due to COVID-19. Please read more here.

For further questions regarding this, please contact info@aaal.org. 

Questions

For questions regarding the academic aspects of the conference, including proposal submission policies, please contact conference@aaal.org.

For questions regarding the practicalities of how to submit a proposal or other technical questions, please contact info@aaal.org.