The Research Scholar’s Forum of the Centre for English Language Studies (CELS) resumed their annual Conference for Research Scholars in English Language (COREL) after a brief hiatus following covid. COREL 2025 titled “Interfaces in English Language Studies- Navigating politics, policies, research and innovation” was held on 14th and 15th February and explored myriad themes ranging from translanguaging to history of English language education to discourse studies to continuous professional development.
The Conference was flagged off by Associate Prof. Dr. Jyothi Hymavathi Devi and the Head of CELS Prof. Sunita Mishra who introduced the centre and the conference, respectively. The first plenary session was addressed by Dr. Santosh Mahapatra, faculty member, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad.
The talk titled “AI in Action: Exploring Practical Applications and Research Frontiers in Applied Linguistics” discussed the use of a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools and their application in classroom teaching and research drawing on the personal experiences of the speaker.
The second plenary speaker, Dr. Kadharaja KMC, Assistant Professor, IIITDM Kancheepuram, presented his talk on the topic “Language, Power, and Social Justice: Bridging Critical Pedagogy and Critical Discourse Analysis in Language Education”.
The talk highlighted the need for promoting social consciousness among students and teachers and the need to integrate social justice in all facets of language education including instructional materials, methodologies, assessment strategies, classroom interactions, and institutional policies. The first day of the conference ended on a high note with beatboxing and dance performances hosted by the centre.
The second day of the conference began with the third plenary session by Dr. S. Ramamoorthy, Assistant Professor, SR University, Warangal. The talk titled “Mixed-Methods Research in Applied Linguistics: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Directions” was a comprehensive analysis of the various aspects of mixed methods research in applied linguistics. The conference also organised a panel discussion on “Future Prospects of ELS” moderated by C. Bhargavi, English Language Instructor, SoLA, IIT Jodhpur.
The discussion was led by Dr. Ashams Joe, Dr. A. Dinesh, Dr. SK Akram, Dr. K. Krishna Swamy who brought in their practical expertise to shed light on the career prospects of ELS. The final plenary session was addressed by Dr. R. Vennela, Assistant Professor of English, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Her talk on “The highs and lows of historical research: From/for an ELT Perspective” provided an extensive overview of archival research illuminated by examples from historical research projects.
The conference also organised six parallel paper presentation sessions providing platforms for researchers from various disciplines to open dialogues in the field of ELS, showcasing the interdisciplinary nature of work being done in the area. The conference concluded with a valedictory session where it received positive feedbacks from the participants.