Despite having heard numerous wonderful things about Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular, I must
admit that I was less than enthusiastic when I boarded the plane in sunny Nice, France, to head up to the cold
north. But, as it turned out, those colleagues and friends who had sung the praises of this surprising capital built
on 14 islands had every right to gush. The wide open spaces and large farmhouses that could be seen on my
shuttle ride into the city reminded me of my native Mid-West (although with admittedly slightly fewer cornfields
and slightly more coniferous trees than in Ohio!), and, once in the city, I was struck by the playful palate of colors
used to paint the buildings, colors not unlike those that could be seen on the French Riviera that I had just left. In
addition to the ever-present proximity of water (more than 50 bridges, many of them open to pedestrians, link the
14 islands), I will also remember Stockholm as a city full of friendly and helpful people.
Each time I’ve attended Eurosla, I’ve always had a wonderful experience, and Eurosla 21 was no exception. I
returned to France on September 11th (the day before our fall semester started!) with my head full of ideas for new
projects, for improvements to ongoing ones, and (of course!) with fond memories. One of the discussions that most
marked me from this year’s conference was the ongoing debate targeting the role of the native speaker in second
language acquisition. This debate actually “kicked off” the conference, as the Language Learning Roundtable was
dedicated to the question “Is there a future for the native speaker in SLA research?”, and the issue came up time
and again in different talks and posters over the course of the four days. In addition, the four plenary speakers
challenged us to reflect on three main issues, namely on the role of corpora in L2 research (Florence Myles), on the
similarities and differences between heritage languages and second languages (Silvina Montrul), and on ultimate
attainment, with provocative talks by Inge Bartning and Michael Long. As for my own, more targeted, interests, I
was excited to have the opportunity to attend numerous talks on formulaic language, with research into collocations
being particularly dominant at this year’s conference.
In addition to a high standard of quality in the papers and posters presented (a standard we’ve come to expect at
Eurosla), I must mention the absolutely wonderful effort put in by the Stockholm organizing committee, which did
an exemplary job, and by the staff and many volunteers who supported them. Not only was the academic portion of
the conference perfectly well organized, but we, the conference attendees, also had the pleasure of being pampered
during coffee breaks and during meal times. In addition, I believe the welcome reception was thoroughly appreciated,
and I for one am thankful to have had the opportunity to visit the beautiful City Hall. So, for everything: Tack så mycket!
With best regards from Eurosla,
Amanda Edmonds, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
