J-SLA Autumn Conference 2026 

Conference Information

Date：24th (Sat) October 2026

Venue：Chuo University (Tama Campus, Tokyo)

Call for Papers

The primary objective of the Autumn Conference 2026 is to provide undergraduate students, graduate students, and early-career researchers with an opportunity to present their current research endeavours, thereby supporting the development of their academic pursuits. While we encourage those researchers to take advantage of this opportunity to present their research and foster its further development, we welcome submissions from researchers at all career stages.

If you wish to present your research, please follow the guidelines from 1-10 below.

1．Presentation format

There are two formats for research presentations at the Autumn Conference 2026.

(1) Student Oral Presentations (open to student researchers only)

(2) Poster Presentations

Note 1) All presentations must be delivered in person at Chuo University. Substitute presentations are not permitted. The presentation must be given by either the first author or a co-author.

Note 2) The Student Oral Presentation category is intended for undergraduate and graduate students conducting research on second language acquisition. Each session will be attended by a specialist in the field, who will provide questions and feedback. Presentations may report research that is still in progress.

Note 3) Submissions must present original, unpublished work that has not previously been presented at another conference or published elsewhere.

Note 4) Researchers who are not students may not apply for a Student Oral Presentation, even as co-presenters.

Note 5) For each presentation format, an individual may submit only one application as the first author. While student researchers are eligible to apply for both a Student Oral Presentation and a Poster Presentation, the content of the presentations must be different. 

2．Presentation time

The time allocated for research presentations is as follows:

(1) Student Oral Presentation: 20-minute presentation + 10-minute Q&A 

(2) Poster Presentation: 90 minutes (tentative)

3. Eligibility requirements

(1) Abstract submission is open to both J-SLA members and non-members.

(2) If an abstract is accepted, the presenter (or, in the case of multiple presenters, the first-listed presenter) must complete J-SLA membership registration, either as a regular member or a student member, and pay the membership fee no later than 5th October 2026 (membership registration is available here). Failure to complete both registration and payment by the deadline will result in the presentation being ineligible.

(3) Among co-presenters, only those who do not attend the conference are exempt from the membership requirement. All conference participants, without exception, must register as J-SLA members and pay the applicable membership fee.

4. Content of research presentations to be invited/ accepted

The Autumn Conference 2026 is calling for research presentations on theoretical and empirical research on second language acquisition in line with J-SLA Vision Statement (https://en.j-sla.org/about).

The research areas open for presentation submissions are as follows:

Phonetics, Phonology, Semantics, Pragmatics, Morphology, Syntax, Lexicon, Theories, Methods, Individual differences, L2 use, Learning environments, Input, Output, Interaction, Generative Grammar, Cognitive Grammar, Lexical Functional Grammar, Other grammar theories, Psychology of learners, Language and cognition, Social background and language acquisition, Psycholinguistics, Language processing, Neurolinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Lingua Franca, Instructed SLA, Third language acquisition, Heritage language, Language attrition, Acquisition of Japanese, Acquisition of English, Acquisition of a language other than Japanese or English

5. How to prepare abstracts for review and the conference programme

Abstracts should be prepared in accordance with the following instructions. Please note that abstracts that do not follow the abstract guidelines from (1) to (8) below may not be accepted.

<Abstract for review>

(1) Language: The title, abstract, and presentation must be in the same language (either all in English or all in Japanese).

(2) File types: Please save your abstract in BOTH Word and PDF formats.

(3) Font type and size: Please write in Times New Roman 10.5 pt for English and MS Mincho (or Yu Mincho) 10.5 pt for Japanese.

(4) Length: No more than 800 words for English abstracts, and no more than 1,600 characters for Japanese abstracts. Figures and tables may be included, but the entire abstract should not exceed two A4 pages. Titles, example sentences, figures, tables, and references are not included in the word or character count. Please place example sentences, figures, tables, and references at the end of the abstract, following the main text.

(5) Margins: 3 cm on all sides (top, bottom, left and right).

(6) Title: The title should be centered at the top of the abstract. If your abstract is in Japanese and includes a subtitle, please place it between dashes. If it is in English, place the subtitle after a colon. Please use APA title case.

(7) Anonymization: Do not include your name or affiliation in the abstract. If you cite your own work in the main text, do not use masked terms like “●● (2006)” or terms like “Author (2006)” for anonymization. Instead, use the third person just as you would for other studies (e.g., Yamada (2006) showed that...).

To ensure fairness in the peer review process, please remove all personal information (such as author details) from the properties of your Word and PDF abstract files.

For more information: https://webs-studio.jp/word/9341/

(8) Word/character count: Write the number of words or characters at the end of the main text of your abstract.

<Abstract for the conference programme>

The abstract for the conference programme must be prepared using the designated file format. Please download a template here.

6. How to apply 

Please access one of the Google Forms below and upload both the abstract for review and the abstract for the conference programme.

Japanese https://forms.gle/WQoV4qCucSDHBFju8

English https://forms.gle/tCjbpYb7BqphtXqg7

Note) You may be unable to access the forms above using the university network or your university account. If this happens, please try accessing it from home or another network using a personal Google account.

7. Deadline 

The deadline for applications for presentation is as follows: 

Monday, 7th September 2026, 23:59 (JST).

Please note that abstracts submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

8. Confirmation Email

Upon completion of your abstract submission, a confirmation copy containing your submitted details will be automatically sent to the email address provided in the form. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam or junk folder. If you still cannot find it, please contact the Chair of the Abstract Review Committee.

Chair of the Abstract Review Committee: Mari Miyao (jsla2026abstract[@]j-sla.org)

9. Reviewing method

The abstract for review will be assessed by the reviewers based on the following five criteria.

A. Importance of the research: Does the research contribute to the academic development of second language acquisition research?

B. Clarity: Are the theoretical background, data, discussion, and conclusions clearly presented? However, presenters of ongoing research in the Student Oral Presentation category are not necessarily required to include all of these elements.

C. Structure: Is the abstract appropriately structured?

D. Overall evaluation: Overall assessment of persuasiveness, clarity, and organization.

E. J-SLA vision statement: Is the research content in line with the J-SLA vision statement?

Note) Please note that research that does not conform to the J-SLA vision statement may not be accepted, even if it is outstanding research.

10. Announcement of review results

The review results will be sent to the presenter by email by 23:59 on 28th September 2026.

＜Other inquiries about J-SLA Autumn Conference 2026＞

If you have any questions, please feel free to email the secretariat.

Secretariat: Tae Yamazaki (office[@]j-sla.org)