Learners have long been the subject of scientific research, in particular in fields such as Biology, Physics, Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive and Education Science. This interest has resulted in numerous studies and publications which have shed new light on the learning process while opening up avenues for future research.

In his major work: “The Great Didactic - Setting forth the whole Art of Teaching all Things to all Men” (1627-1632), Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), the founding father of didactics, wrote: “It is the principles, the causes, and the uses of all the most important things in existence that we wish all men to learn; all, that is to say who are sent into the world to be actors as well as spectators.”[1]

Referring to language learning, the author stressed the need to learn several languages: “[…] but tongues also are confused (so that instead of one, many must now be learned, if a man for the sake of learning wish to hold communion with divers people, living and dead).”[2]

Almost four centuries later, with the development of Human and Social Sciences, the Council of Europe made action-based learning one of the main tenets of its methodology, and in particular in the “action-oriented” approach to language learning promoted through the Common European Framework. According to this approach, learners are “‘social agents’, i.e. members of society who have tasks (not exclusively language-related) to accomplish in a given set of circumstances, in a specific environment and within a particular field of action.”[3]

In this perspective, both teachers and learners are mutually engaged and interact in a constantly evolving synergy during the acquisition of knowledge, competences, attitudes and values.

The LIDILE EA 3874  (Linguistics - Engineering - Language Didactics) research unit proposes to take a fresh look at the “learner” concept through a wide-angle lense, irrespective of age and context: who are the “learners”, where do they stand, what do they do, whom do they interact with…? This multilingual and trans-disciplinary international symposium is open to academics from a wide range of discplines, including Linguistics, Education Science, Sociology, Psychology, Cybernetics and Translation Studies, as well as teachers and language professionals.

This symposium aims to bring together and combine different perspectives, in three main research areas:

1. Language didactics

After Comenius, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827), Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852), Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and many other leading didacticians established solid theoretical foundations for the study of the respective roles of teachers and learners in the language learning process.

Learner-centered methods became mainstream in the 20^th century, in particular thanks to the action-oriented approach promoted by the Council of Europe in 2001. The emphasis shifted from an approach centered on teaching methodology, course contents and available resources (which prevailed to a large extent from the end of the 18^th to the beginning of the 20^th century) to an approach focusing on the interests and needs of the learner (end of the 20^th century to the present-day). In a digital world, what are the new questions and challenges facing the learner? What are the new avenues that research into language learning could explore?

The following themes could be explored:

• Learners and their history (for instance: first languages, social and cultural background, learning strategies, motivational factors, etc.);
• The changing role of the learner in the language classroom  (for instance: autonomy, emotions, personal experience, learning experience)[4];
• The learner’s skills and competences: definition, acquisition and assessment;
• Specific classroom resources for different types of learning processes (cognitive, sensory-motor, emotional, social…);
• The effects of ICT (Information and communication technologies) on the learning process, in particular their uses in implementing truly personalised learning methods;
• Professional perspectives for second language learners;
• Cultural input and its effect on second language learning.

2. Applied linguistics

This area will focus on the common ground between linguistics and learning process research. Papers could explore the following themes:

• The concept of “interlanguage”, examining the role of standards, errors, strategies or the influence of other languages;
• The collection and use of learner corpora (language for everyday use and for special purposes, “second” languages, classroom-based language), e.g. by type, tools, objectives, dissemination, etc.;
• How the lingustics of spoken language can help develop new learning methodologies for oral comprehension and production;
• The development of linguistic corpus analysis tools in the field of language learning.

3. Translation, terminology and technical writing:

Translators, interpreters, terminologists, reviewers or technical writers can all be defined as “perpetual learners” in the sense that – however much they specialise – they are constantly confronted with new fields, new products or original concepts and terms in the documents they are expected to draft, translate or review. Language industry professionals are always on the look out for the solutions and the compromises best suited for their audience and readership.

The use that trainee or practising translators and technical writers make of language tools and resources is therefore a legitimate field of study. The following questions could be examined:

• Do practising professionals and learners make the same use of these tools and resources or do they focus on different types and usages?
• How many language resources do they need, to be sure they have found the “right” answer?
• What is the right balance between the necessary level of doubt and the level of certainty required to perform efficiently as translators or technical writers?
• What kind of metalinguistic and sociolinguistic knowledge do they use in their everyday practice?
• What role do language resources and tools play in their interaction with colleagues, clients and/or partners?
• What use do translation teachers make of these same tools and resources in the translation classroom?

(Linguistics, Didactics and Language Engineering)