July 21, 2016, by Words on Words

BAAL Vocabulary Studies SIG conference

This blog was written by Ana Pellicer–Sánchez, Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics

The School of English at the University of Nottingham hosted the annual meeting of the BAAL Vocabulary Studies special interest group (SIG) on the 7^th and 8^th of July. The event was a great success with over 60 attendees from different countries, including the UK, Spain, Italy, Korea, Poland, Belgium, China and Japan. We had 14 high-quality paper presentations on a range of vocabulary topics, including the acquisition and processing of multi-word sequences, the assessment of vocabulary, the learning of new vocabulary from different modes of exposure, and the examination of oral and written development. Two poster sessions were also part of the programme, with eight posters in each session. Everyone enjoyed the discussions that these sessions generated. It was great seeing everyone walking around and discussing the projects presented in the posters! The two plenary talks by Professor Meara and Professor Schmitt took the audience through the past and present of vocabulary research. There was also a bit of time for socialising during the Thursday conference. We finished the event with the announcement of five prizes sponsored by TextInspector and British Council and voted by the audience to the best posters and best student presentations.   It was great to have two days dedicated to vocabulary research. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss ideas and meet old and new colleagues! Attendees commented on the supportive environment and friendly atmosphere. This made the event particularly useful for PhD students who had the opportunity to receive feedback on their studies from key figures in the field. We all enjoyed the conference and left with lots of new and interesting ideas for vocabulary research! The event also demonstrated that the BAAL Vocab SIG keeps growing and, as the organizers said, let’s keep the group growing! We are looking forward to next year’s event! Huge thanks to everyone who made this event possible!

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