SLAT Interdisciplinary Roundtable

A student-planned interdisciplinary roundtable conference for all SLAT community members, and students and faculty from other universities

When
12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Feb. 13, 2026

The SLAT Interdisciplinary Roundtable is a student-run annual conference at the University of Arizona. The conference is open to scholars around the world, and the topics that are usually covered fall under the different Second Language Acquisition and Teaching areas of specialization (Instructional Dimensions of L2 Learning, Sociocultural Dimensions of L2 Learning, Cognitive Dimensions of L2 Learning, and Linguistic Dimensions of L2 Learning).

The Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Student Association (SLATSA) cordially invites you to attend the 25th SLAT Interdisciplinary Roundtable, held in person at the University of Arizona on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14, 2025. Registration will be free

 The theme for this year is “Language Education in a Changing World”, and the call for proposals is now live!

Within the last year, major shifts in national policy in the U.S. and countries around the world have immediately impacted the day-to-day operations of educational institutions and the lived experiences of students, teachers, and program administrators. 

In response, SLAT Roundtable 2026 invites graduate students, scholars, and educators to submit proposals for individual presentations, projects-in-progress, panels, posters, and workshops that explore how language education and applied linguistics are being (re)shaped by political, economic, technological, and social shifts, and how language education serves to counteract divisiveness in an ever more connected, yet polarized world. 

Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Education, Language, and Society in a Changing World - Topics at the intersection of language education with pressing sociopolitical issues such as equity, migration, multilingualism, and globalization.
  • Beyond the Classroom - Topics that explore the broader impacts of language education on learners’ personal, academic, and social development. May identify areas in which current approaches have not supported learners beyond the classroom or innovative approaches that move beyond traditional spaces and pedagogies.
  • Beyond Boundaries - Topics that integrate perspectives from outside of SLA, such as public policy, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, sociolinguistics, education, digital humanities, and other fields to (re)shape our understanding of language and teaching.
  • Humanizing Technology in Language Education - Topics that address the opportunities and challenges posed by AI, online learning, and digital tools, with attention to their ethical, relational, and affective dimensions, while reaffirming the centrality of human connection, collaboration, and care in language education.
  • Critical Approaches to Language Education -  Topics that take a critical stance on any of the above themes by highlighting inclusive pedagogies, social justice, and work that challenges bias in educational contexts.

All proposals must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. We especially encourage contributions related to ongoing issues around the globe.

Submit your proposal here:

https://forms.gle/c9WtZHGoRGYJ4Wf99

Three of our featured speakers will be Dr. Lilian Gorman, Dr. Bryan Carter, and Dr. Jieun Ryu, alongside a diverse lineup of individual presentations, projects-in-progress, workshops and a poster session.

The conference will be held at the University of Arizona, Tucson main campus. The conference schedule and room locations of the conference will be posted here closer to the days of the event.

If you have any questions, please contact both Nena Choi (nechoi0202@arizona.edu) and Caroline Scheuer Neves (carolinesn@arizona.edu). 

 Thank you for your participation. We look forward to seeing you in Tucson in February!

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Call for Proposals_SLAT Roundtable

SLAT Publishing and Presenting Workshop

Getting started in the publishing process and turning ideas into conference papers & publications

When
9 – 11 a.m., May 1, 2026

Dr. Shelley Staples will be facilitating the workshop this year, which his open to all SLAT major and minor students (even those who have attended similar iterations in the past). 

Within this workshop, Dr. Staples will help demystify the publishing (and preparing for publishing) processes and how to translate publications into presentations, with potential topics about:

  • What types of materials to submit for publication
  • how to prepare publication drafts for presenting at conferences
  • how to find topics for dissertation ideas
  • how to turn ideas into conference papers and publications
  • how to turn dissertation ideas into job talks
  • giving talks at relevant conferences

Dr. Staples is SLAT Faculty and Professor of English Applied Linguistics, with several publications and presentations over the course of her career. 

IRB Refresher Session

Get a refresher on the IRB process at the University of Arizona

When
10 – 11 a.m., March 6, 2026

This event is for SLAT majors and SLAT minors at the University of Arizona.

Do you want to know more about the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process at the University of Arizona? Do you need a refresher on what is needed for IRB applications and research/data collection with human subjects? Join us on Friday, March 6th, from 10:00 am – 11:00 am for Institutional Review Board (IRB) 101, given by one of the IRB Coordinators in the Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) Office at the University of Arizona.

Come learn about how to work legally and ethically with human participants in language studies. What training do you need? What guidelines and restrictions are there? Are some people more protected than others? How do you submit your project for review and approval?

All these questions will be answered, and more!

Qualifying Review Meeting

Closing out the Qualifying Review process for SLAT first-year students

When
9 – 10 a.m., March 6, 2026

First year students will go through the results of this year's Qualifying Review, and have the opportunity to ask questions and get information to prepare for years 2 - 5 in SLAT. Stay on for the second hour, when there will be a presentation by an IRB representative about how to begin an IRB proposal.

Presenters: Dr. Ana Carvalho (SLAT Chair), Dr. Chris Tardy (SLAT Grad Advisor), Debbie Shon Buhler (SLAT Program Coordinator)

Taehyeong Kim receives College of Humanities GAT Award for Teaching Excellence

Sept. 16, 2025
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picture of Taehyeong Kim

SLAT is proud to announce that one of our doctoral minor students, Taehyeong Kim, has received one of the inaugural College of Humanities GAT Award for Teaching Excellence! Taehyeong is a GAT in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. This award is intended to honor COH Ph.D. students early in their studies who have demonstrated outstanding promise in teaching and who have demonstrated a committed and sustained effort to ensure the quality of their students' learning experiences. 

Taehyeong is a third-year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics, also pursuing a Ph.D. minor in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching. He received a Bachelor of Social Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and holds a Master of Arts in Hispanic Language and Literature from Seoul National University. His primary research interests in Hispanic Linguistics revolve around Spanish phonology and phonetics, in particular, syllable structure, OCP, phonological processing, syntax-phonology interface, and multilingualism. To read more about this award and the other recipients, please look at this link

Join us in congratulating Taehyeong on his outstanding achievement!

SLATSA Writing Group

Informal writing sessions for SLAT major and minor students

When
2 – 4 p.m., Dec. 5, 2025

Would you like to be a more productive writer? 

If you are working on an intensive writing project like a dissertation, journal article, course paper, or grant proposal, and you would like to increase your writing productivity in a safe and friendly space, consider joining the SLAT Writing Room this Fall 2025! Each focused 2-hour session is set up to have unstructured writing time with short breaks, followed by a short discussion aimed at helping you improve your writing productivity. This is an informal way to create accountability, meet a few SLAT friends, and get some writing done. 

The sessions will be on Zoom every Friday afternoon, from 2 pm – 4 pm (AZ). The first session will take place on September 12, and the sessions will continue until December 5 (except for the week of Thanksgiving). The recurring Zoom link for the sessions is: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83793639414

No advance registration necessary – just show up and work on your writing goals! 

Please reach out to Angus (leydic@arizona.edu) or Subin (osubin@arizona.edu) with any questions.

SLATSA Writing Group

Informal writing sessions for SLAT major and minor students

When
2 – 4 p.m., Nov. 21, 2025

Would you like to be a more productive writer? 

If you are working on an intensive writing project like a dissertation, journal article, course paper, or grant proposal, and you would like to increase your writing productivity in a safe and friendly space, consider joining the SLAT Writing Room this Fall 2025! Each focused 2-hour session is set up to have unstructured writing time with short breaks, followed by a short discussion aimed at helping you improve your writing productivity. This is an informal way to create accountability, meet a few SLAT friends, and get some writing done. 

The sessions will be on Zoom every Friday afternoon, from 2 pm – 4 pm (AZ). The first session will take place on September 12, and the sessions will continue until December 5 (except for the week of Thanksgiving). The recurring Zoom link for the sessions is: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83793639414

No advance registration necessary – just show up and work on your writing goals! 

Please reach out to Angus (leydic@arizona.edu) or Subin (osubin@arizona.edu) with any questions.

SLATSA Writing Group

Informal writing sessions for SLAT major and minor students

When
2 – 4 p.m., Nov. 14, 2025

Would you like to be a more productive writer? 

If you are working on an intensive writing project like a dissertation, journal article, course paper, or grant proposal, and you would like to increase your writing productivity in a safe and friendly space, consider joining the SLAT Writing Room this Fall 2025! Each focused 2-hour session is set up to have unstructured writing time with short breaks, followed by a short discussion aimed at helping you improve your writing productivity. This is an informal way to create accountability, meet a few SLAT friends, and get some writing done. 

The sessions will be on Zoom every Friday afternoon, from 2 pm – 4 pm (AZ). The first session will take place on September 12, and the sessions will continue until December 5 (except for the week of Thanksgiving). The recurring Zoom link for the sessions is: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83793639414

No advance registration necessary – just show up and work on your writing goals! 

Please reach out to Angus (leydic@arizona.edu) or Subin (osubin@arizona.edu) with any questions.