Lanspan Lectures 2026

Schedule of Lanspan Lectures 2026

Abstracts

Sabine Jentges, Karen Wallrich & Anselm Treher (Radboud University Nijmegen) - Learning neighboring languages in the context of multilingualism: The new Interreg project KraMe

The aim of the KraMe-project is to strengthen the image of the neighbour languages German and Dutch, especially among young people, to arouse respectively to increase interest in the neighbour languages and in cross-border contact, and to use the existing multilingualism of young people as a resource. By the means of innovative learning materials offered from primary education to university, the importance of neighbour languages and multilingual skills is conveyed and their relevance for integration, education and the labor market is underlined. To this end, a series of materials such as video clips, games, online and print material is being developed for the various educational levels, in coordination with cooperating schools, the Stichting Leerplanontwikkeling (SLO), and the Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf.

We would like to discuss the current preliminary plans for material development and, in particular, their evaluation and scientific monitoring in this colloquium.

Eleonora Rossi (University of Florida) - Understanding the nature of neurocognitive plasticity through the lenses of bilingualism and language learning across the life-span

Societies are progressively multilingual and mobile, with most of the world’s population learning and using more than one language across the life-span, either as a result of living in a highly bilingual environment or by acquiring a second language (L2) later in life. In addition, increasing global migration calls for migrants to quickly acquire the new host country language, making bilingual language experience increasingly multifaceted, as exemplified by Heritage Speakers. The relatively recent recognition that bilingualism –broadly intended--  is more dynamic than previously thought has also started to be confirmed by nuanced effects on neural measures of language and cognitive processing. This body of work has started to reveal a fine-tuned system at work during new language processing and cognition that emerges at a very rapid pace across the life-span. In this talk I will present evidence demonstrating the rapid emergence of neural signatures of novel language learning in several studies in younger and older adults and its effects beyond language. I will also demonstrate that these very signatures can be moderated by prior linguistics diversity that is afforded by the variable experience that is bilingualism. In addition,  to investigate how variability in social interactions at the macro-level (beyond the individual self) can inform linguistic and cognitive outcomes in the bilingual speaker, I will present data from a new line of research that uses personal social network and psychometric network modeling. The main goal of this new line of research is to start describing how the compositional and structural features of a speaker’s social network can shape the individual’s language and cognitive experience across different stages of life, and conversely, how a multifaceted bilingual experience can modulate one’s social network. Altogether, I hope to illustrate the benefits of integrating cross-disciplinary, multi-level data towards a better understanding of language learning and bilingualism across the life-span.

Motoki Saito (University of Oldenburg) - Learning reduced word forms in L2: Insights from an experiment and computational modeling

Second language learners often struggle to understand native speakers, partly because native speakers frequently produce reduced word forms. Although explicit instruction in reduced forms improves listening comprehension, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Most word recognition models assume certain word representations, but it remains also unclear how reduced forms are represented. The Discriminative Lexicon Model (DLM) sidesteps this by mapping acoustic inputs directly onto semantics. DLM predicts that learning words in both clear and reduced forms should be as beneficial as learning only reduced forms, whereas learning only clear forms is less helpful for recognizing reduced forms.

To test this, a word-learning experiment was conducted with Dutch target words and German participants, who were assigned to one of three learning conditions (clear-only, reduced-only, or mixed). In the testing phase, all participants were tested on reduced forms. Three DLM models paralleling the experiment conditions were also trained and tested. Results showed that reduced-only training yielded the highest accuracy, while reaction times were shortest for mixed training. The modeling largely supported these patterns. Findings support a) that learning reduced forms aids their recognition, b) that a model without explicit word representations can account for this effect, c) that learning clear forms alongside reduced forms benefits reduced-form recognition

Michal Korenar (University of Amsterdam) - The multilingual brain: a journey from neuroplasticity to translational questions

What does it mean for the brain to live through more than one language? For many people, multilingualism is not a special skill used only occasionally, but a daily mode of being: a constant process of selecting, switching, adapting, and navigating between linguistic worlds. In that sense, multilingualism is not only a communicative achievement, but also a rich and lasting neurocognitive experience.

In this talk, I trace a research journey into how such experience may shape the brain. I begin with structural MRI studies showing that multilingual experience is associated with measurable variation in the healthy adult brain. Across different multilingual profiles, these findings converge on a broader insight: that the brain appears to adapt to multilingual experience in ways that are consistent with the principles of neuroplasticity.

I then turn to more recent work that moves beyond individual brain regions toward the organisation of the brain as a whole. This broader perspective asks not only where multilingual experience may leave its traces in brain structure, but also how it may relate to wider patterns of neural reorganisation. It also opens the door to questions about brain ageing, including whether some multilingual experiences are associated with structurally younger- or older-looking brains.

Rather than presenting multilingualism as already clinically protective, I suggest a more careful conclusion: that this work helps lay the groundwork for future research on resilience, ageing, and neurodegeneration. The broader aim is to show how research on multilingualism can move from mapping structural adaptation in healthy brains toward asking whether life experience may also shape the conditions for brain health across the lifespan.

Nathan Vandeweerd & Anna Zaffinelli (Radboud University Nijmegen) - Exploring L2 Writing in the Age of Generative AI: A process-based approach

The rise of generative AI (GenAI) is quickly reshaping second language (L2) writing practices. Increasingly, texts emerge from the interaction between students and GenAI tools, raising questions about the features that distinguish human from machine-assisted writing. While recent research has begun to identify general differences between GenAI and human language, the focus has largely been on contrasting fully AI-generated texts and human-authored texts (e.g., Berber Sardinha, 2024; Denir & Egbert, 2026). As a result, little is known about situations where learners remain responsible for the text but selectively rely on GenAI during composition. In these contexts, the boundary between human and GenAI contributions is less clear, and authenticity cannot be reduced to a binary distinction. 

Our new AI-assisted L2 writing corpus aims to fill this gap by collecting not only written products, but also process and contextual data regarding GenAI-use. Data is currently being collected at a Belgian university from first-year bachelor’s students (n = 120) with English as their second or additional language. Each participant produces two texts: one narrative and one persuasive essay, written under different writing conditions, with task order randomized to control for order effects. Keystroke logging is collected for all participants using Inputlog (Leijten & Van Waes, 2013), and screen recordings are gathered for a subset of participants (n = 5) via OBS Studio. Complementary data include chatlogs documenting students' written interactions with GenAI, as well as learner metadata such as linguistic background information, a LexTALE vocabulary test (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012), and self-reported patterns of GenAI use. 

This presentation will address the ethical and practical issues involved with compiling a GenAI-assisted L2 corpus and will share some initial findings from the first round of data collection.

Elizabeth J. Erling (University of Vienna) - Multilingual Possibility Approaches for the English Language Classroom

The English language classroom brings together learners with highly diverse linguistic repertoires, interests, educational histories and support needs. Teachers must navigate this complexity within significant workload demands and institutional constraints. Drawing on four years of ethnographically informed case studies from the Udele project—research conducted in linguistically diverse, urban middle schools—this workshop introduces a set of learner profiles that illuminate the varied challenges and resources that multilingual youth bring to English learning.

Using these empirically developed profiles as a starting point, participants will engage with “Multilingual Possibility Activities” (Erling & Foltz, 2025), based on and extending the work of Duarte & Günther-van der Meij (2018). These activities offer practical pathways for differentiation, scaffolded participation and the pedagogical use of students’ full linguistic repertoires.

Together, we will explore how translanguaging-informed pedagogies can be enacted in sustainable, teacher-friendly ways and discuss how such approaches might help us to foster motivation, equitable participation and stronger learning outcomes (in English).

References
Duarte, J.,&Günther-van der Meij, M. (2018). A holistic model for multilingualism in education. Euro American Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 5(2), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.9.153

Erling, E.J., &Foltz, A. (2025). Towards social justice in English language education: Promoting multilingual possibilities in the classroom. In A. Biel & F. Esleben (Eds.), Social justice in language education: Taking action (pp.128–154). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/BIEL7458

Anastasia Pattemore (University of Barcelona) - Maximising the potential of L2 input for early L3 development: Bilingual subtitles and plurilingual audiovisual input for newcomers in the Netherlands

Exposure to language input plays a crucial role in language acquisition. The extensive viewing approach, in which learners engage with large amounts of audiovisual material such as TV series and movies over time, can help meet the need for abundant L2 input (Webb, 2014). Research has shown that watching TV in the target language can lead to higher second/foreign language (L2) proficiency, positively affecting vocabulary learning, grammatical constructions development, and listening comprehension (see Montero Perez, 2022).

For several decades, researchers have also examined whether subtitles can support this learning process. Traditionally, most studies have focused on language uptake from L2 audio with either L1 or L2 subtitles.

However, in the context of increasing multilingualism and globalization, viewers and language learners are now exposed to a wider range of viewing modes, including bilingual subtitles (L1+L2 or L2+L3), and plurilingual audiovisual input (L2 audio paired with L3 subtitles). During this presentation, I will share findings from a series of studies conducted during my postdoctoral research at the University of Groningen, focusing on newcomers’ learning of L3 Dutch through these types of audiovisual input.