International Conference on Language teaching

Over 170 language teachers and language professionals participated in the international conference The Future of Languages, in Veröld – House of Vigdís at the University of Iceland on 8–9 June 2023. 

At the conference, the roles of systematic language learning and teaching were examined and means to promote language learning and cultural literacy were among the topics discussed. Keynote speakers were Ofelia García, professor emerita at the Graduate Center of the City University in New York, who discussed bilingualism, plurilingualism and translanguaging in language teaching, and Sarah Breslin, Executive Director, at the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), in Graz, who gave a talk on inspiring innovation in language education. Sofiya D. Zahova, Director of the Vigdís International Center for Multilingualism and Johan Sandberg McGuinne, a Swedish South Saami and Scottish Gaelic Indigenous scholar, language rights activist and teacher were the invited speakers of the closing session of the conference, delivering talks on the future of indigenous languages and UN’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022–2032.

Organized by STÍL – Association of Language Teachers in Iceland, FIPLV – Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes and NBR – Nordic Baltic Region of FIPLV in collaboration with The Vigdís International Centre, the main conference coordinator was Hólmfríður Garðarsdóttir, professor of Spanish at the University of Iceland. 

Recording of Ofelia García’s talk can be seen here. 
Recording of the final session on The International Decade of Indigenous Languages can be seen here. 

Photos: Kristinn Ingvarsson