Boston University Conference on Language Development 2017-2021

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

The Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) will be held at Boston University each November from 2017 through 2021. BUCLD is an internationally recognized meeting of researchers in language acquisition and development, including first and second language acquisition, language disorders, bilingualism, and literacy development. Now in its forty-second year, BUCLD promotes the progress of science by providing a major venue for dissemination of scholarly findings, for initiation and development of collaborations, and for professional networking. The conference consists of approximately 190 presentations selected through peer review, as well as invited keynote and plenary speakers, two symposia on topics of current interest, a research funding workshop, a professionalization workshop for students and postdoctoral scholars, and a publisher exhibit. Attendees number over 500 researchers from around the world, from undergraduates up through senior faculty. Full ASL interpreting coverage is provided throughout the conference, and conference proceedings are published soon after the conference. Since 1976, the faculty and students of Boston University have organized and run the conference; Dr. Charles Chang, Dr. Sudha Arunachalam, and Dr. Paul Hagstrom lead the team of organizers for the 2017 conference. Funding from the National Science Foundation will support education and enhance accessibility, diversity, and inclusion at BUCLD by subsidizing student travel, including that of underrepresented minorities, and the time of the student organizers of the conference, graduate students in Linguistics and allied fields. Support for student travel will allow student contributions, regularly among the highest-rated abstract submissions, to be presented at the conference without undue hardship and will increase the exposure of students to the top research and researchers in the field in a friendly and interactive environment. Furthermore, support for student organizers will allow BUCLD to continue to play an important role in training students as future professionals, including undergraduates and women.