Call for papers for the online conference  

“Metalinguistic awareness in additional language learning: current issues and future directions” 

Conference dates: September 30-October 1, 2026 

The team of the research project “Education for plurilingualism: Metalinguistic awareness in early instructed language learning” (MetaLearn) is pleased to invite submissions for an international online conference exploring theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical work on metalinguistic awareness in additional language learning. Metalinguistic awareness is commonly understood as the capacity to direct attention to language independently of meaning and to treat language itself as an object of analysis and reflection. In the context of additional language learning, metalinguistic awareness has been identified as a key factor for language attainment, interacting with other individual and contextual factors. As educational contexts become increasingly diverse, revisiting the role of metalinguistic awareness is both timely and necessary. This conference invites researchers and teacher educators to discuss recent findings, ongoing research, and future directions in metalinguistic awareness across diverse learning contexts.  

We welcome contributions from across disciplines (e.g., SLA, applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, education research, cognitive science) that focus on the construct of metalinguistic awareness. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: 

• Theoretical perspectives on metalinguistic awareness 
• Cognitive mechanisms underlying metalinguistic awareness 
• The role of metalinguistic awareness in additional language acquisition 
• Pedagogical approaches to enhance metalinguistic awareness 
• Assessment of metalinguistic awareness in learners 
• Multilingualism, cross-linguistic influence and metalinguistic awareness 
• Metalinguistic awareness in multilingual education 
• Promoting metalinguistic awareness in teacher education and teaching 
• Technological tools for fostering metalinguistic awareness. 

Submission types 

• Papers presentations (20 minutes + 10 min Q&A) 

Submission guidelines 

• Abstract length: 250–350 words for individual papers (excluding references) 
• Include additionally:
• 3–5 keywords  
• name, affiliation, and contact information  
• a 2–3 sentence biography for each presenter. 
• Language: English. 
• Note: each author can submit no more than 2 proposals (either solo or as co-author). 
• Submissions via email to: metalearn@hvl.no   

Peer review 

• Proposals will be evaluated in terms of thematic relevance, quality of content, significance, and originality. 

Submission & registration 

• Registration  (opens August 1, 2026): https://www.hvl.no/en/research/project/metalearn/metalearn-conference-2026/ 

Important dates 

• Submission deadline: May 31, 2026  
• Notification of acceptance: July, 2026 
• August 1, 2026: Registration opens 
• Conference dates: September 30-October 1, 2026 
•  

Organizers and contact 

• Assoc. Profs. Christine Möller-Omrani & Monika Bader, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway 
• MetaLearn project: https://www.hvl.no/en/research/project/metalearn/ 
• For queries please contact: metalearn@hvl.no   
• Conference website: https://www.hvl.no/en/research/project/metalearn/metalearn-conference-2026/