Indian Institute of Technology Patna

Indian Institute of Technology Patna School of Humanities & Social Sciences Patliputra-Kurji Road, Patna-800013

National Conference on Sustainability and Development: Implications of ELT for Individual, Society and Ecology (3-4 April, 2015)

Organized by: School of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Patna Concept Note

Michael Halliday in his lecture ‘New Ways of Meaning: the Challenge to Applied Linguistics’ at the AILA conference in Saloniki in 1990 focused on the widespread metaphor of economic growth; while describing how English language has become pervaded with terms such as large, grow, tall - all of which are implicitly evaluated as positive and good, despite inevitably negative consequences for the ecology. In today’s world the focus is on sustainability and development of the individual without hampering the environment in which we live. All thoughts of development today are merely fictitious unless it annexes people of the world with the real issues they face every day. While one communicates through one’s mother tongue, it becomes mandatory for everyone to connect through a common medium and a common language in order to understand the challenges and to suggest remedies through various ways. English as a language has all over the world been a uniting force albeit its criticism from time to time. The success of the World Wide Web is because of its accessibility in English. Innovative technology has brought a remarkable change in the minds of people and the geographical boundaries are being reduced. English is at the root of all such changes. As a consequence, the teaching and learning of English today has become sine qua non. In a way, Communication and development have become synonymous with each other.

Development today should be one that can sustain. The Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime MinisterGro Harlem Brundtland defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainability is connected to the economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment.Language learning and teaching carry us across all sorts of borders: national, cultural, disciplinary, psychological, and of course linguistic. In modern times English has emerged as the language of the globalized world. In addition to professional skills, today’s multi-faceted professional world demands fluency and accuracy in English. Such a demand has influenced the culture and tradition of society. It not only demands new skills in students but also affects the teaching-learning process.

In such a scenario, we aim at exploring ways in which ELT is beneficial not only for the masses but also for the environment in which we live. The conference will address various questions related to ELT, such as: Does it help in developing economy, reducing inequalities and preventing marginalization? An attempt will also be made to understandtasks/activities that can be done in an ELT classroom to foster all-round development. We welcome submissions for innovative presentations that can reflect the various possibilities within and surrounding the field of English language education.

Themes:

Language, Society and Ecology

Ecology and ELT

Eco-critical Discourse Analysis

Environment-related Language Lessons

Culture and Language Communication

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

Organizational Communication and Barriers

Sociolinguistics

English Language Teaching and Learning

ELT for the Marginalized

Language Learning and Teaching Strategies

ELT for Rural Learners

Teacher as Facilitator and Innovator

Using Role Play and case studies in ELT

Language Teaching Methodology

Classroom Practice and Language Proficiency

Testing and Evaluation

Language, ICT and Globalization Globalization and Death of Languages

Multimedia and ICT in Language Education

Language Teaching in Digital Age

Machine Translation

English for Information Technology Enabled Services

Effective Communication and Global Employability

Cross-cultural Issues and English Language Teaching

Language and Psychology

Psychology for Language teachers

Psychology and Second Language Acquisition

Cognitive Study of Language

Emotional Intelligence and Communication

Call for Papers

Abstracts for paper presentations on the above themes/areas are invited from academicians/faculty members / research scholars and students from different colleges and institutions. The length of abstracts should not exceed 300 words excluding key words. Abstracts and filled in registration forms should be sent through e-mail ([email protected]) to the organizers latest by March 05, 2015. Full papers with latest MLA style documentation should be submitted latest by March 15,2015.

Registration fee:

Registration fee for faculty: Rs. 1500.00 (without accommodation)

Registration fee for research scholars: Rs. 800.00 (without accommodation)

Registration fee includes conference fee, food and kit etc. Registration fee has to be sent in the form of DD in favor of REGISTRAR, IIT Patna latest by March 05, 2015. Alternatively, the fee can be deposited through NEFT. The bank details are as follows:

BANK NAME: State Bank of India BRANCH NAME WITH COMPLETE ADDRESS: Patliputra Colony, Patna 800013 IFSC CODE OF THE BRANCH: SBIN0001513 MICRCODE: 800002033 COMPLETE BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER: 32899091805 Kindly email the organizers once you have transferred the registration fees electronically. Also add the details on the hard copy of the registration form.

About School of HSS, IIT Patna

An interdisciplinary organization in nature, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences currently offers courses in Economics, English Literature, Linguistics, Sociology and Education. As an integral part of a technological institution, this unit primarily focuses on its main objective of orienting engineering graduates with the questions concerning society at large in global world and acquainting them with the implications of such question for our immediate social setup. The department aims at preserving its unique interdisciplinary focus by strengthening doctoral programs and research.

Founded in 2008, IIT Patna is in the city of Patna itself. IIT Patna has a number of opportunities and resources with a single motto of high thinking and good living. In this era of knowledge economy, higher education is instrument for our prosperity and quality of life. IIT Patna is striving very hard to achieve this goal through quality and holistic education of our students, and our pioneering research. The website is a testimony to all these. Patna is well connected by air, rail and road.

Places to visit: One of the ancient cities of the world, Patna, the capital of Bihar has had a glorious past. Situated on the banks of the holy river Ganges, Patna is a historically rich city and has been home to some of the greatest minds of all times like Chanakya and Aryabhatta. A city of historical importance, Patna has places worth visiting like the Harmandir Sahib, Golghar, Patan Devi,The Museum etc. Maner is a historical and religious place located a few kilometers from Patna and is also famous for its laddus. Nalanda, Rajgir and Bodh Gaya are other places of historical and religious interests.

Conference Organizing Committee:

Patron: Director, IIT Patna Conveners: Dr. Binod Mishra, Dr. Smriti Singh Members: Dr. Priyanka Tripathi, Dr. Nalin Bharti, Dr. Jyotsna Agrawal, Dr. Aditya Raj and Dr. Papia Raj.

Accomodation: The organizers will display a list of hotels (at discounted rates) for outstation participants on the website. The participants will have to make their own arrangements.

Contact us: Dr. Binod Mishra, Associate Professor, HSS – 9472472521 Dr. Smriti Singh, Assistant Professor, HSS – 9199202209 Email: [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected]

REGISTRATION FORM

Name: Designation:

Gender:

Address (e-mail and with phone number):

University/College:

Nature of participation: Presenter/participant

Title of Paper:

Details of Registration: DD No., date & amount:

Date of arrival and departure:

Request for accommodation: YES/NO

Signature