Next week, BU Romance Studies will host our 6th Annual Second-Language Learning and Disabilities Conference. The conference, taking place in-person on March 1st and online on March 2nd, \u201caims to provide language educators with tools and strategies for creating inclusive curricula and a classroom climate of tolerance and respect\u201d, according to its organizers. Conference organizer and Romance Studies faculty member, Mar\u00eda Datel, tells us:<\/p>\n
“At our sixth annual conference, we convene to cultivate an inclusive, diverse and accessible environment in language classrooms, grounded in principles of social justice. Through research and pedagogical strategies, we work together to celebrate the unique differences among students, including disabilities, and to develop anti-oppressive curricula. Including students with disabilities is not only a matter of equity but also a vital aspect of social justice in language education.”<\/p>\n
This year, the conference will feature Keynote Speaker, Olivier Le Guen, who is a Professor-Researcher at the Centro de Investigations y Studios Superiores en Antropolog\u00eda Social (CIESAS) in M\u00e9xico. Le Guen\u2019s presentation, titled, \u201cWhen a disability generates a new language. The Yucatec Maya Sign Language documentation project,\u201d will focus on recent efforts toward recording the linguistic characteristics of Yucatec Maya Sign Language. The conference will feature talks by BU Romance Studies faculty, as well as presentations by non-BU PhD students, instructors, and subject area leaders.<\/p>\n