LESLLA 2025 - Travailler ensemble / Working Together

Welcome to LESLLA 2025

We are delighted to welcome you to the LESLLA 2025 Symposium, co-organized by Université Laval and Université du Québec à Montréal. This event brings together experts and practitioners from around the world to share their knowledge and experience in the field. Embracing LESLLA's values in promoting plurilingualism and pluriculturalism, both French and English will cohabit during the event.

Come join the conversation and discover the latest research, practices and policies for LESLLA learners' education. We hope this conference will be a source of inspiration and new ideas for all participants. See you soon!

Keynote Speakers

Eva Malessa

University of Turku (and University of Jyväskylä), Finland

Keynote Abstract:
Digital learning technologies, tools, and skills in LESLLA education
June 4, 2025 | Online | English (Online translation in French available)
Bio: Eva Malessa is an educator and educational linguist with a versatile language teaching experience. Having taught English, Finnish, and German to younger and older learners in compulsory and voluntary educational settings in the United Kingdom and Finland, she turned to language research. For the last decade she has been involved in LESLLA research, specializing in technology-mediated literacy training and teaching of adult emergent second language readers. Further, she has a strong interdisciplinary research interest in ethical (research) practices, sustainability, and practitioner-focused research. Currently she is working as a project researcher at the University of Turku, Finland, exploring education for sustainable development (ESD) in language education.
Marie Catherine Barry

Centre Louis-Joliet, Québec, Canada

Keynote Abstract:
The LESLLA Community in Quebec City: Initiatives for Settlement, Education, and Civic Participation
June 5, 2025 | On-site | French (Simultaneous English translation available)
Bio: Marie-Catherine Barry has been working with LESSLA students at the Louis-Jolliet Centre in Quebec City since 2011. As a teacher, she developed a local program based on the special needs of LESLLA students. Since 2020, she has been an educational consultant and she is now dedicated to fostering connections between the school and the community through collaborations with cultural and community-based organizations. Furthermore, she has been involved in several research projects with universities and now shares her enthusiasm and expertise by providing training to teachers across the province of Quebec.
Fanny Forsberg Lundell

Stockholm University, Sweden

Keynote Abstract:
Everyone must quickly learn Swedish
June 6, 2025 | On-site | French (Simultaneous English translation available)
Bio: Fanny Forsberg Lundell is a Full professor of French at Stockholm University. In addition to her numerous publications on formulaic speech in French and Spanish as a second language (L2), she has also dealt with intercultural pragmatics. Over the past decade, her work has delved into the upper limits of L2 acquisition, particularly in a context of migration and mobility, taking into account psychological and social factors. In recent years, she has shifted her focus to language policy, and is involved in the economic integration of migrants with low levels of literacy in Sweden.