By the profession, for the profession...: a comparative review of AFMLTA national languages conferences

Abstract

2015 marked the 20th anniversary of the National Languages conference of the AFMLTA. The conference was held in Melbourne with a welcome reception at the Melbourne Immigration Museum and conference dinner in the iconic Eureka Tower. Almost 300 delegates attended the conference from around Australia, as well as a contingent from New Zealand and a handful of participants from the US and Indonesia. The conference continues to receive highly positive feedback from delegates across a range of areas. In this paper, we explore the evaluation data from the 2015 conference in relation to the two previous conferences held in Darwin in 2011 and Canberra in 2013. We also highlight and discuss topical issues raised by respondents to the online evaluation survey, which contribute to ongoing professional learning planning and research on the professional learning needs of languages educators.