Dear colleagues,
Greetings! We are pleased to inform you that the University of Hawai‘i is organizing an international, interdisciplinary conference titled “Storytelling and Technology: Hindi-Urdu and South Asian Language Learning Innovations.” The conference will be held on December 10–12, 2025 at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
With its leadership and expertise in Project-Based Learning, Less-Commonly Taught Languages, and Creative and Performance-Based Learning, the University of Hawai‘i is inviting scholars and educators, students and teachers from around the world who are advancing innovative approaches to teaching and learning South Asian languages.
This year’s theme is Storytelling and Technology. From age-old oral traditions to minute-long Instagram reels, stories and storytelling remain central to how we connect with one another, make sense of the world, and understand ourselves. A language, far beyond its “utility” in the “real world,” creates a world of its own, and learning the language becomes an act of inhabiting that world, of rediscovering ourselves in it. Storytelling, thus, is not just a pedagogical tool but a genuine and meaningful way to learn a language, in which creative self-expression motivates the learning process.
Today, as technology evolves at a rapid pace, we find ourselves not waiting for it to meet our needs, but rather racing to keep up. Language learning is no exception in this context. With this in mind, the University invites educators, scholars, students, artists, and others working on language learning and teaching. The presentations may reflect in interdisciplinary ways on the intersection and combination of storytelling and technology as language teaching mode, method, and manner. Participants are encouraged to tell their stories from the classroom, from their own research and students’ work; workshop their lesson plans and experiments, share their successes, and present new directions. The University is also working toward publishing selected papers in an edited volume. Please see the full Conference Description and CFP
The conference is free to attend, but participants are expected to make their own travel and lodging arrangements.
We request you to please continue supporting this effort to help expand the learning and teaching of Hindi and South Asian languages as heritage languages in the USA.
Hindi-Urdu and South Asian Language Learning Innovations
The deadline for abstract submission is September 7, 2025.
We look forward to an engaging and enriching conference in beautiful Honolulu. The location and dates of the conference might help you escape cold winters in your region and combine work and pleasure. However, if you are unable to come in person, we will be happy to welcome you online via Zoom.
Sincerely,
Sai Bhatawadekar, Professor of Hindi-Urdu, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Email: saib@hawaii.edu
SALTA 