The ELF14 conference, held in Prague this September was eagerly anticipated by academics and teachers from around the world with an interest in Global Englishes and the study of English as a Lingua Franca. Hosted by the School of Education at PCU in collaboration with Charles University's Faculty of Arts, the four-day conference brought together over 160 speakers from 25+ countries across five continents, representing 70+ cities and 100+ universities and institutions.
Conference History
The ELF conference has a rich legacy, beginning in Helsinki in 2008 and travels annually to cities like London, Athens, and Taipei. Prague’s ELF14 continued this tradition and offered a programme that encouraged meaningful dialogues about English's evolving global role.
From Global Englishes to bot-English. Language use in the era of AI
Organised by School of Education programme leader Veronika Quinn Novotná and researcher Jirina Dunková, the conference, titled From Global Englishes to Bot-English: Language Use in the Era of AI, aimed to highlight the impact of AI on language learning, teaching, and intercultural communication. This gave scholars and students the chance to share thoughts and engage with the challenges that the study of ELF poses with the widespread adoption of AI and digitalisation and how to keep a humanistic perspective, and linguistic diversity in English classrooms worldwide.
Programme Highlights
The programme featured 20 keynote speakers, 12 live streamed sessions and eight specialised colloquia held across Charle’s University’s Faculty of Arts & PCU’s City Centre Campus. Speakers represented all generations, from senior to novice, from professors to PhD students and from the Global West and South.
Teacher Friday
A new feature introduced by the Prague organising committee was the introduction of 15 practical, hands-on workshops designed specifically for English teachers. These sessions helped bridge theory and practice for conference attendees and local teachers, including students from the School of Education.
Integrating teacher workshops into the conference was a very good idea. It was a significant step emphasizing researcher-practioneer partnership.
Elif Kemaloglu-Er
Associate Professor at Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science & Technology University
Conclusion
The ELF14 conference in Prague was the perfect opportunity to debate the evolving nature of English as a global lingua franca. Together global academics, educators, and practitioners were able to discuss the importance of AI on language use and education as well as ways the community can adapt while maintaining linguistic diversity and ethical values. The ELF community look forward to meeting up again soon where the conversations will continue that will ultimately shape the study and teaching of English around the world.
Prague City University to Host International English as a Lingua Franca Conference
New Beginnings Conference
