CALL FOR PAPERS
Symposium: *The Language of Foreign Language Teaching Materials and Reference Works*
Date: Friday 7 November 2025
Location: Osnabrück University (Germany)
Organisers: Elen Le Foll & Anna Fankhauser
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2025
BACKGROUND
Foreign language teaching and reference works play a crucial role in institutionalised foreign language teaching and are known to constitute an important source of learners’ foreign language (e.g. Huang, 2019). However, multiple studies suggest that the language of these textbooks often differs considerably from the kind of language typically used in communicative situations outside the foreign language classroom (e.g., Barbieri & Eckhardt, 2007; Gilmore, 2004; Römer, 2005; Rössler, 2010; Winter & Le Foll, 2022). The language of textbooks may even be considered a distinct language variety (Le Foll, 2024a; 2024b). Reference works traditionally used in foreign language teaching have also been shown to under- or misrepresent various lexico-grammatical features, as seen in comparisons with recent corpus-based reference works (e.g., Fankhauser, 2024; Siepmann & Bürgel, 2023).
FOCUS
This symposium is intended to provide an opportunity to present and discuss new descriptive, comparative, and evaluative studies on the language of foreign language teaching materials. We look forward to empirical examinations of textbooks, language learning apps, and other (digital) teaching materials, as well as of reference works designed for foreign language teaching, e.g., learner dictionaries and (learner) pedagogical grammars. The symposium will also allow us to discuss key concepts such as authenticity, pedagogical norms, and the relationship between teaching materials and syllabi in foreign language teaching.
FORMAT
We welcome contributions in English, German, French or Spanish in the form of presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion) and posters (especially for research-in-progress contributions). The symposium will take place at Osnabrück University and will be on-site only. Submissions from early career researchers are expressly welcome. Following the symposium, participants will be invited to contribute to an edited volume or special issue.
SUBMISSION
To be included in the programme, please send an abstract of your planned contribution (300-500 words plus bibliography) to elefoll@uni-koeln.de or anna.fankhauser@uni-osnabrueck.de by 1 March 2025. Remember to indicate whether you would like to give an oral presentation or present a poster. We will get back to you by 1 May 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at the aforementioned e-mail addresses.