The Laos Experience 🇱🇦🇬🇭🇩🇪

Erasmus+ Mobility Dr. Ralph Hansmann (Physics)
2023-02-27 - 2023-03-03
Catching up after Covid: After Dr. Nico Hillah from the Institute of Computer Science (January 2023) and Julia Friedl M.A. from the International Office (February), Dr Ralph Hansmann from Physics visits our partners in Savannakhet for continued cooperation and planning of the next project.

Erasmus+ Student Mobility: Thongther Lovanthak (SKU, Faculty of Linguistics) at PH Karlsruhe
2023-03-03 - 2023-08-31

AAAL 2023 Pre-Conference Workshops
2023-03-17
“(Un)Doing Applied Linguistics through Southern Epistemologies: Affordances and Challenges” hosted by Sinfree Makoni (Director of African Studies and Professor of Applied Linguistics), Alissa Hartig (Assoc. Prof. of Applied Linguistics) & Magdalena Madany-Saá (PhD candidate)

AAAL 2023 Conference: "Collaborating and Mentoring in Applied Linguistics"
2023-03-18 - 2023-03-21
AAAL (American Association for Applied Linguistics) 2023: “Collaborating and Mentoring in Applied Linguistics”
Roundtable presenter I. Martin (20 March, 10 a.m.): “Bi-directional Decoloniality in Applied Linguistics: A Lao-German cooperation project”

Erasmus+ Staff Training Mobility: Somsanouk Xayyavong (SKU, Faculty of Informatics) at PH Karlsruhe
2023-04-01 - 2023-06-30

IATEFL Pre-Conference Event (PCE) in Special Interest Group (SIG): "Global Justice"
2023-04-17
Research (Re) SIG (Special Interest Group): “Teacher Research and inclusion and social justice in language education”, hosted by Dr. Ernesto Vargas Vil (Programme Director and Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London)https://www.iatefl.org/events/420
Panel discussion led by Prof. Richard Smith (Prof. of ELT & Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick), with panel speaker Prof. I. Martin (Prof. of English, University of Education Karlsruhe)
Workshop on “Autoethnography” by Peter de Costa (Assoc. Prof. at Michigan State University, Co-editor of TESOL Quarterly, Convenor of the 2023 IATEFL Conference)
Showcase by Prof. Martin: “Towards Global Justice in TESOL through North-South teacher-tandem projects”

IATEFL 56th International Conference & Exhibition 2023
2023-04-18 - 2023-04-21
IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) International Conference 2023
Paper by I. Martin: “Bi-directional Decoloniality in Applied Linguistics: A Lao-German cooperation project”

"Global Englishes, Global ELT & Global Citizenship Education": B.A. seminar, summer term 2023
2023-04-19 12:00 - 2023-07-26 13:30 (Europe/Berlin)
Topics are prepared together by 2-3 students and Prof. Martin: Student Mobilities: Studying & Teaching Abroad (Julia Friedl, International Office); RFCDC: Competences for Democrativ Culture (guest presenter Dr Raphaelle Beecroft); Workshop Postcolonialism & Anti-Racism (guest presenters Caesar Mbotana & Katharina Jung); Global Englishes; Global Citizenship Education; Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals; Education & Culture in Laos; Women & Education; Stereotypes, prejudices, xenophobia; Decoloniality: Mobility programmes, Education in South Korea & Romania

Erasmus+ Staff Training Mobility: Dr Phetsamone Khattiyavong (SKU, Acting Dean Faculty of Linguistics) at PH Karlsruhe
2023-05-01 - 2023-06-30

"Language & Power": Excursion and student conference
2023-05-13 - 2023-05-20
Prof. Martin & Prof. Kohl-Dietrich together with 20 students of the seminars “Global English(es), Global TESOL & Global Citizenship Education” and “Multilingualism in the EFL Classroom”

German-Lao Friendship Society e.V. & Lao-German Friendship Association sign new MoU in the presence of H.E. Mr Mayboua Xayyavong
2023-05-18 10:00 - 17:00
Official celebration, joint lunch, visit DRK Kamillus clinic, boat trip on Rhine with invited guests, amongst others MoP Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker and Prof Isabel Martin; discussion for future cooperation projects and funding options

Symposium "Global Englishes Language Teaching"
2023-05-31 09:00 - 18:00
Paper by I. Martin: “Decoloniality & Global Englishes via a ‘North-South’ cooperation project”

Erasmus+ Staff Training Mobility: Phetsavanh Somsivilay (SKU, Faculty of Linguistics & International Office) at PH Karlsruhe
2023-06-01 - 2023-07-31

Team XII: Preparatory Workshops 1, 2 & 3 (4 hours each) with Prof. Martin
2023-06-09 14:00 - 2023-08-04 18:00
Topics Workshop 1 (June): Team XII, travelling/VISA, formal documents, contacts to partner institutions, presentation on Lao history and culture, meeting Lao partners presently at the PH Karlsruhe, communication, Project Reader, Checklist (terms & conditions, workload), StudIP run-through, upcoming dates, invitations & info stands
Workshop 2 (July): Project blog (technical & content), “TheLaosExperience”, Sync&Share, special tasks, group photo, former workshops in Laos, Pre-/While-/Post-work overview, deadlines, teaching materials, course books, Singlish & Square Dance dates
Workshop 3 (August): VISA questions, last formalities & organisation, defining tandems and learner groups, recommendations from previous teams, first joint post by Team XII, travel guides, literature, Lao language

Georg Arnhold Summer Conference (GASC) "Educational Justice and Sustainable Peace"
2023-06-26 - 2023-06-29
The conference hosts 20 international scholars and is organised by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media (Georg Eckert Institute) & Georg Arnhold Foundation. Additionally, 5 IRC scholarships are available each year.
Paper by I. Martin: “Bi-directional Decoloniality & Global Englishes in language education via a ‘North-South’ cooperation project”

AILA 60th Anniversary World Congress Lyon 2023: "Diversity and social cohesion in a globalized world: moving towards more engaged language studies"
2023-07-17 - 2023-07-21
AILA (Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée or International Association of Applied Linguistics) was founded in 1964.
Conference theme 2023: “Diversity and social cohesion in a globalized world: towards more committed language sciences”
The overall goal will be to reflect on how studies in applied linguistics and the researchers who produce them can participate in the construction of a globalized world in which respect for diversity as a basis for social cohesion requires individual and collective commitment.
Paper by I. Martin: “Bi-directional Decoloniality in Applied Linguistics: A Lao-German cooperation project”

3rd Erasmus+ Mobility Project PH Karlsruhe & Savannakhet University
2023-08-01 - 2026-07-31
Erasmus+ Key Action 171 Mobility Project between the University of Education Karlsruhe and Savannakhet University (budget 62.470,00 Euro): After our first two mobility projects, “Bi-directional Teaching and Learning” (2018-2021) and “Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship” (2021-2023), we now embark on “Digital Citizenship and Bi-directional Decoloniality” for 3 years (2023-2026).

EUROCALL 2023: "Call for all languages"
2023-08-15 - 2023-08-18
The focus of this year’s EUROCALL conference is on inclusiveness of all languages. (Find the programme here.)
15 August (10:30-11:30): “Walk a Mile in their shoes: English as a ‘distant’ language” (Workshop by Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin)
19 August (16:00-16:20): “Are digital learning paths sufficient for learning/practising English grammar? Views of secondary school pupils” (Paper by Eirini Busack & Isabel Martin)

Workshop "Action Songs for primary and chants/raps for secondary school"
2023-08-29 17:00 - 19:00

Sabbatical Prof. Martin (winter term 2023/24)
2023-10-01 - 2024-03-31
Research project: “Bi-directional Decoloniality in Applied Linguistics and English Teacher Education”
Research partners are colleagues at The University of Education Karlsruhe, Savannakhet University (Lao P.D.R.), the University of Yaoundé 1 (Cameroon), Cape Coast University (Ghana), Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi Pedagogical University (Ukraine), Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University (Ukraine), Kibbutzim College (Israel), Queen Mary University of London (UK)

Team XII works in Laos
2023-10-01 - 2024-01-12
Volunteers from the English Department of the University of Education Karlsruhe tandem-teach and tandem-learn at the Lao-German Technical College, Vocational Development Institute, and at Sunshine School.

1st Erasmus+ Project Meeting
2023-11-06
Finance and mobility planning: International Officers of PHKA & SKU, English Department PHKA (Prof. Martin), Informatics Institute PHKA (Dr. Hillah)

Kick-Off Meeting with Ukrainian partner universities for "Bi-directional Decolonial Praxis" Project
2023-11-09 15:30 - 17:30
University of Education Karlsruhe (Prof. Isabel Martin, Dr. Valentyna Guseva) with Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University and Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University

"Fact-Finding Mission" 2023: "Bi-directional Decoloniality towards Systemic Re-Learning" (Cameroon, Ghana)
2023-11-11 - 2023-12-11
Prof. Martin’s first FFM in 2017 secured a new cooperation partner for the University of Education Karlsruhe: Savannakhet University. This second FFM is also funded by the “DAAD” (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst = German Academic Exchange Service) and serves to prepare two new university cooperations with the University of Yaoundé 1 and Cape Coast. Prof. Martin is accompanied by her doctoral student Ms Rebecca Dengler (English Dep’t). Mr Nico Hillah (Informatics Dep’t) will accompany us in Ghana.

DEADLINE 19.1.2024 for APPLICATIONS for F13 ASA-Programme ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL for 2 German-Cameroonian student-tandems in 2024 towards Decolonising Education Systems and Knowledges Production
2023-11-27 - 2024-01-19
Our “ASA Academia Global Format” student-tandem project “Decolonising (English) teacher education through bi-directional systems interaction” runs from April to December 2024 and is fully funded for 4 students, 2 German and 2 Cameroonian.
TheCameroonianExperience will add to TheLaosExperience, to be followed by TheGhanaExperience, TheUkraineExperience, and TheIsraelExperience (soon also on this blog).
https://x.com/IsabelMartin762/status/1737884911053217874?s=20
“ASA” is a programme organised by “Engagement Global”, the central contact agency in Germany for development policy initiatives funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and whose main goal is “to promote fair global coexistence”.
http://engagement-global.de
http://facebook.com/engagement.global ⁦
@EngGlobal
Application period for Cameroonian students: 27.11.-14.12.2023 (2 nominees, 2 substitutes)
Application period for German students: 1.12.2023 to 19.1.2024
Places: 2 each
Period of tandem-work: 15.4.-29.12.2024
Details for German applicants: https://asa.engagement-global.de/bewerbende.html

Mentoring by Prof. Martin and Dr. Ekembe; Master theses can be written in the context of this project, and project results will be presented at our ALA conference “Language Awareness, Education, Power” (7.-10.7.2024).
#PHKarlsruhe & #UniversityofYaounde1 are currently also preparing a formal university cooperation.
ASA_project_outline_2 ASA_project_outline_2

ASA Academia global project "Rethinking education: decolonising internationalisation and knowledge construction"
2024-04-19 09:00 - 2024-07-17 17:00
Student-tandem research project on “Decolonising (English) teacher education through bi-directional systems interaction“ (ASA-title), called “Rethinking education: decolonising internationalisation and knowledge production” (our title)

“ASA Academia global": German-Cameroonian research project at the University of Education Karlsruhe and the University of Yaoundé 1
2024-04-22 09:00 - 2024-12-02 17:00
The “ASA” programme is an education and capacity-building initiative administered and financed by “Engagement Global” on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and aims to promote a bottom-up understanding of different regional perspectives on overcoming pressing global challenges.
Our 6-month research project “Rethinking Education: Decolonizing Internationalization and Knowledge Production: Decolonizing (English) Teacher Education through Bidirectional System Interaction” brings together three German-Cameroonian student tandems in a North-South partnership in 2024.

ALA Congress 2024 at the University of Education Karlsruhe: "Language Awareness, Education & Power"
2024-07-07 - 2024-07-10
The 17th International Conference of the Association for Language Awareness will take place in 2024 as the 30th Anniversary Congress from 7 – 10 July 2024 at the Karlsruhe University of Education, Germany (#alaconference2024). On the following day, 11 July, we will offer a special social programme with interesting tours and events.
Call for papers, Registration on ConfTool: submission deadline 1st December 2023, notification of acceptance1st March 2024. Contact ala2024@conftool.org
Presentation types: Papers (20 min.), Posters (poster session), Symposia (90 minutes), Workshops (90 Minutes)
Track 1 – Language Awareness in Language Education; Track 2 – Language Awareness and Global Citizenship; Track 3 – Language Awareness and Digital/Social Media; Track 4 – Language Awareness and the Workplace; Track 5 – Language Awareness and Artificial Intelligence (AI); Track 6 – Critical Language Awareness: Decoloniality, Gender
Keynote speakers: Prof. Dr. Sinfree Makoni, Prof. Dr. Simone Pfenniger, Rahat Zaidi, Ph. D.
Eric-Hawkins_lecture: Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agneta Svalberg, Assoc. Prof. Joanna White, Ph .D
South-North Co-Chair of Roundtable “Decolonising Applied Linguistics”: Eric Enongene Ekemne, Ph. D., Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin
Invited Speakers: Prof. Peter de Costa, Ph. D., Prod. Mario E. López-Gopar, Ph. D, Yecid Ortega, Ph. D., Ass.Prof. Prem Phyak, Ph. D

3 consecutive Erasmus+ mobilities to Savannakhet University: Prof. Isabel Martin, Mr Philipp Reul, Dr. Nico Hillah
2024-08-21 - 2024-11-29
The fourth project phase of “Bi-directional teaching and learning” focusses “Digital Citizenship and Bi-directional Decoloniality” (2023-2026). We are currently working out the connections and contradictions between these two towards a new project idea. These members of PH Karlsruhe visited/are visiting SKU in the autumn of 2024:
Teaching Mobility Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin (English Department): 21.8.-30.8.2024
Training Mobility Mr Philipp Reul (PhD candidate in English Department): 11.11.-16.11.2024
Training Mobility Dr Nico Hillah (Informatics Institute): 18.11.-26.11.2024

Leona Kemmer (Team XI) volunteers as English teacher at Sunshine School in the winter term 2024/25
2024-09-09 - 2025-12-19
Ms Leona Kemmer (Team XI) tried three times all through the first Covid year 2020/2021 to get a visa to Laos to work at Sunshine School, despite never-ending obstacles. Team XI were sadly thwarted in their endeavours, but the Head of Sunshine School (Sister “Didi 1”) was sure Ms Leona would join them one day. Ms Leona next collaborated with Sunshine teachers to write an e-book for teaching English as material to accompany her Master thesis on “Intercultural differences in ESL to transcultural understanding through encounters and communication: Creating an e-book with Lao teachers in tandem-teaching”.
After finishing her studies at the University of Education Karlsruhe and then her 18-month teacher traineeship, she directly connected with Sunshine School again and is there now, teaching throughout the winter. Hats off for such amazing tenacity, loyalty, and determination!
