Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA) - Our Story
The idea for LESLLA began when an international group of researchers saw the need for an international multidisciplinary forum to address the second language and literacy learning education needs of low or non-literate adults (L2), especially learners with migration or immigration backgrounds. The forum would focus on research, practice and policy. No such organization existed at that time.
LESLLA’s founding mothers, Ineke van de Craats, Jeanne Kurvers, and Martha Young-Scholten, began to discuss the ideas with other researchers who were doing work with these students, including founding members Roeland van Hout, Nancy Faux, and Larry Condelli, inviting them to Tilburg, Netherlands, to share their research and discuss the idea further.
LESLLA was formed in 2005 at the First Annual Symposium at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
About 25 people attended this first symposium, many of whom were linguists. Currently, those engaging with LESLLA come from varying professional backgrounds, ranging from professional teachers to academic researchers to other positions related to teaching. Following the meeting at the first symposium, it was decided that English would be the working language of the international, grassroots consortium. A website was launched and managed by Larry Condelli. Larry and Nancy Faux offered to host the Second Annual Symposium at Virginia Commonwealth University the following year. It wasn't until the Third Annual Symposium that the acronym was adopted and a research agenda was developed. Initially, LESLLA stood for 'Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition for Adults'. In 2017, a revision of the acronym resulted in the current name: Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults.
With 150 members from 11 countries as of 2023, and thousands of symposium participants over the years, researchers, practitioners and policymakers coming together from all around the world, LESLLA is growing and transitioning from being grassroots to more formalized with a Board of Directors , Constitution and Bylaws . Throughout this process, LESLLA aims to maintain fidelity of their initial grassroots feel and vision while focusing on bringing together practice and research related to second language and literacy learning education from different regions of the world. Founding Members indicated they were impressed with how LESLLA has grown, with a commitment to annual symposia, year-round professional learning opportunities and connections that lead to collaborative initiatives such as LASLLIAM . All of this leads them to believe the organization has a great future.
