Register and task variation in Learner Corpus Research (VAR4LCR), Louvain-la-Neuve, 7-8 July 2025
***Please note that the deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 31 January.***
To mark the end of a Hoover Seedfund collaborative project between the Centre for English Corpus Linguistics at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) and the Department of English at Northern Arizona University (NAU), a conference on Register and task variation in Learner Corpus Research will be organized in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, on 7-8 July 2025 under the aegis of the Learner Corpus Association. The conference will be an on-site event only.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
We are pleased to announce that the following speakers have agreed to give a keynote presentation at the conference:
- Prof. Douglas Biber (Northern Arizona University) - Prof. Marije Michel (University of Groningen) - Prof. Shelley Staples (University of Arizona)
SUBMISSIONS
We welcome submissions which compare two or more registers or tasks in corpora of learner language, using the methods of corpus linguistics / LCR, and which analyse the possible effects of register/task on the linguistic features of learner language. The learner registers/tasks may, in addition, be compared against some reference corpus data such as native or expert language. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are welcome, with a focus on any aspects of language (phraseology, grammatical complexity, fluency, etc.).
We are particularly interested in submissions that - use data representing different registers/tasks produced by the same L2 learners; - compare registers/tasks displaying different degrees of formality or involving different degrees of communicative control; - combine quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis; - discuss the methodological issues related to the comparison of registers/tasks in learner language; - include under-researched registers/tasks/languages.
There will be three different categories of presentation: - full paper - work-in-progress report - poster
ABSTRACTS
Abstracts should be about 500 words (not including references) and specify how the paper will contribute to the theme of the conference, in particular by highlighting the registers/tasks that will be compared and the corpora that will be used. They should also provide a clear outline of the aim(s) of the paper, including clearly articulated research questions, sufficient details about the methodology and (preliminary) results.
Abstracts should be uploaded to OpenReview (https://openreview.net/group?id=VAR4LCR/2025/Conference) no later than 31 January 2025 at 23:59 UTC.
CONFERENCE WEBSITE: https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/ilc/cecl/register-and-task-varia...
CONTACT: var4lcr@uclouvain.be