Intercomprehension, pluralistic approaches, borders, language didactics, oral intercomprehension, interdisciplinarity, Romance languages, Germanic languages, Slavic languages, Chinese languages, sign languages, migrants, exploration of the plurilingual repertoire, ICT, ELAO, and specific learning needs. 

This conference, organized by the UNITA Universitas Montium alliance, the Apicad association, the members of the IPLERA project and the Università Roma 3, takes place within the framework of the European University and has the support of its partners. In the wake of the IC2019 Colloquium, it aims to take a fresh look at intercomprehension and pluralistic approaches to teaching and learning and to bring together all researchers working in these fields.

This event is open to the whole community of researchers and teachers interested in the topics addressed, whether in Europe, Latin America, or elsewhere in the world. The call for papers is therefore open to all.

In recent years, intercomprehension seems to have found a stable and official curricular insertion within various university alliances. The European University UNITA Universitas Montium, which brings together the universities of Beira Interior, Zaragoza, Pau and Pays de l'Adour, Savoie Mont Blanc, Turin, and Vest de Timișoara, has developed a series of training courses (long or short term, in the framework of BIPs) to teach the whole university community (students, teachers, and administrative staff) how to communicate through this approach. Other alliances are launching intercomprehension training in Romance or Germanic languages, as in the case of EUniWell. At the same time, along with other pluralistic approaches (awakening to languages, an integrated didactic approach, and an intercultural approach), it is making its way into schools and non-institutional contexts.

Action research that brings together intercomprehension and English teaching (Arenare, 2022), intercomprehension and regional languages in the school context (Manzato, 2022), oral intercomprehension and serious game (Chazot, 2012, 2020; Pietri & Spita, 2019; Fiorentino, Lesparre & Mantegna, in pubbl.), concerning the development of pragmatic skills in oral communication among multilingual university groups (Garbarino & Lesparre, 2022) or language teachers’ training in intercomprehension (Araujo e Sa et al., 2017; Cortés & Garbarino, 2021) and in pluralistic approaches (Benavente Ferrara, Celentin & Fiorentino, 2022; www.ecml.at/pluralisticteachercompetences)   is nowadays on the agenda. With this conference, we want to bring together professionals who work in intercomprehension to present the progress made by the different current projects, provide an overview of intercomprehension training and activities, and relaunch the network of intercomprehension practitioners. 

During the previous conference ("IC2019: Au-delà des frontières: Más allá de las fronteras 2), participants were invited to consider effective ways of overcoming linguistic, political, physical, and disciplinary boundaries. With IC 2023, we want to understand how far we have come and how to continue.

 If, in the past years, research mainly focused on issues like the definition of intercomprehension, the dissemination of this approach, and its integration, today all this is taken for granted, and we understand that intercomprehension cannot be a "one-off" training. It seems that the time has come to discuss:

• Diversification of programs according to learners’ profiles and training needs: how to harmonize intercomprehension syllabi with university programs Do we need differentiated syllabi for students in linguistic and non-linguistic domains? Which syllabus do we offer for continuing education? What are the intercomprehension skills needed in professional fields? And at the level of school programs, are there prospects for integration? What effects and/or results have we obtained from the many studies conducted with children or adolescents?

• Progression: do we need different levels for different targets (e.g., students of linguistic and non-linguistic domains), and how do we ensure progress at the most advanced levels?

• Evaluation: following the publication of the REFIC, the EVALIC, and the Companion Volume of the CEFR, how do we evaluate? Are there any points in common between the dimensions of intercomprehension proposed by the REFIC and the EVAL-IC descriptors and the new descriptors proposed by the CEFR-CV (e.g., for plurilingual and pluricultural competence or for mediation)? How can these perspectives be integrated? In what contexts have the intercomprehension frameworks been tested? With what conclusions (e.g., are there some dimensions that emerge more than others)? or others that are not "captured" through the descriptors?) What developments can we envision?

•  issues and perspectives that emerge from the new teaching-learning contexts of intercomprehension.

 Other proposals will be possible concerning the theme of intercomprehension and plural approaches.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: June 30th, 2023  deadline extended to 3oth JULY 2023

Deadline for registration: August 25th, 2023

Conference: 12 and 13th October 2023

Abstracts of up to 2000 characters, including spaces and bibliography, will be accepted (Times New Roman 12).

Papers written in all Romance languages and English will be accepted.

For further information write to: ic2023@univ-smb.fr

• 35 euro = students and PhD students, APICAD members, UNITA partners, participants from South America;

Link for payment: Register here

• 65 euros = other participants (registration before 25th August 2023);

Link for payment: Register here

• 85 euros = other participants (registration after 25th August 2023);

Link for payment: Register here

• 45 euro =  participation au dîner du jeudi 12 octobre

 Link for payment: Register here

The conference will take place in the heart of the city of Chambéry, on the Jacob Campus of the Université Savoie Mont Blanc (Rue Jean Baptiste Richard, 73000 Jacob-Bellecombette, Francia).

Hôtel Kyriad Chambéry Centre-Curial
371, rue de la République
73000 Chambéry
chambery.centre@kyriad.fr
+33 (0)4 79 36 13 64
Located in the city centre(near restaurants, coffees...)

Hôtel ibis Styles Chambéry Centre Gare
73000 Chambéry
H9541@accor.com
+33 (0)4 79 62 37 26
Near the train station

Hôtel Mercure Chambéry Centre
183, place de la Gare
73000 Chambéry
H1541@accor.com
+33 (0)4 79 62 10 11
Near the train station

Hôtel des Princes
4, rue de Boigne
73000 Chambéry
reception@hoteldesprinces.com
+33 (0)4 79 33 45 36
Located in the historical centre

These hotels are all located in the city centre. You can reach either the Campus Jacob- Bellecombette or the Campus Bourget-du-Lac by bus (in about 15 minutes).

To go to Bourget-du-Lac: from the train station stop, take the bus line A towards “Technolac” and stop at “Université Le Bourget”.

To go to Jacob-Bellecombette: from the train station stop, take the bus line A towards “Université Jacob”.

Bus ticket can be purchased on board. You’ll be given a transportation card upon your arrival. For any questions you can contact unita.office@univ-smb.fr.

You’ll find on this LINK the maps of the different campuses.