Hosted by Linguistics, the School of Arts, Culture and Language at Bangor University, UK

Dates: 28-29 May 2026

Location: Bangor University, UK

Local chair: Dr Yixin Wang-Taylor, Lecturer in TEFL & Applied Linguistics, School of Arts, Culture and Language, Bangor University

Plenary Speakers:

• Dr Ana Pellicer-Sánchez, UCL London
• Professor Thora Tenbrink, Bangor University

The theme of this year’s Vocabulary Studies SIG conference will be the research and practice intersection between vocabulary, bilingualism and language teaching. The conference will provide an enticing opportunity for researchers, language practitioners, teachers and anyone interested in Applied Linguistics and related disciplines to engage with current and innovative futures of vocabulary research across multiple languages, contexts, disciplines and diverse groups of learners. The conference will deliberately aim to foster enriching discussions at the intersection of vocabulary studies, bilingualism and related disciplines (e.g., Psychology, TESOL, Digital Technology, and Education) as related to vocabulary use and learning across diverse learning contexts and applications.

We invite abstracts for paper presentations, posters, and works in progress (e.g., MA or PhD projects in progress). We welcome proposals on any topic related to vocabulary research and practice, particularly those that are innovative and methodologically rigorous. Suitable topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Bilingual lexical processing and representation
• Vocabulary learning and teaching in bilingual education
• Heritage and minority language vocabulary development
• Multiword expressions and phraseological knowledge in bilinguals
• Sociolinguistic and identity-based perspectives on bilingual vocabulary

As has historically been the case for this conference, we particularly welcome abstracts based on empirical data.

We welcome proposals for the following presentation formats:

1. Paper (i.e., finalised research projects with (near)final results; 20 minutes + 10 minutes for questions)
2. Poster (i.e., complete projects but with more preliminary results, to seek advice to interpret the results or perform new analyses)
3. Projects in progress (i.e., project ideas not yet carried out, to seek feedback on RQs, methods, instruments; 10 minutes + 5 minutes for questions).

A title and a 300-word abstract should be submitted directly to the Vocab SIG using this address: baalvocabsig@hotmail.com

Please specify the type of your submission, and do not add tables or diagrams in your abstract. The deadline for submissions is March 2^nd, 2026.

Important dates:

Deadline for receipt of abstracts: 2 March 2026

Results communicated: 27 March 2026

More information about registration and travel arrangements will be available in due course.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Bangor! If you have any questions, contact us at baalvocabsig@hotmail.com

Conference organisers: Coordinating Committee of BAAL Vocab SIG

Phil, Paweł, Sam, Bea, Daniela, & Inés