I warmly invite you back to participate in the Faces of English 2 conference the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) hosts from 1-3 June 2017.The theme of the conference is “Teaching and Researching Academic and Professional English”. This highlights the rich diversity of approaches to understanding English and the range of EAP and ESP contexts in which it is taught, studied and used across the globe. The conference will bring together academics, researchers, teachers, students and curriculum designers from around the world to discuss the interdependence between theory and practice, with papers which focus on the analysis, description and teaching of English in order to better understand the ways in which research and teaching interact and inform each other. It also welcomes participants to share practical ideas and teaching materials related to the use of English in a variety of professional, educational and virtual contexts.

We have invited five internationally renowned scholars in EAP and ESP as plenary speakers:

Professor Vijay Bhatia, founding President of the LSP and Professional Communication Association for the Asia-Pacific Rim and former Professor in the Department of English and Communication, City University of Hong Kong

Professor Janet Holmes, Emeritus Professor in Linguistics, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Professor Ken Hyland, Chair Professor of Applied Linguistics and Director of Centre for Applied English Studies, The University of Hong Kong

Professor Anna Mauranen, Professor of English and Vice-Rector, University of Helsinki, Finland

Professor John Swales, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and former Director of the English Language Institute, University of Michigan, United States

We are also very glad that the following experts in EAP and ESP teaching and research have confirmed as featured speakers:

Dr. Gail Forey, Associate Professor, Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Professor Azirah Hashim, Professor in Department of English Language, Executive Director of Asia-Europe Institute and Director of Centre for ASEAN Regionalism, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Professor Ann Johns, Professor Emerita of Linguistics & Writing Studies, San Diego State University, United States

Dr. Jane Lockwood, Associate Professor, Department of English, City University of Hong Kong

Professor John Flowerdew, Visiting Professor, University of Lancaster

Hong Kong is a particularly appropriate place to celebrate the theme of “Faces of English” as it promotes itself as “Asia’s world city where East meets West”. I am confident that you will enjoy a stimulating conference here in this exciting city and that your presence and participation will help contribute to this vibrancy and enrich discussions around the theme, developing professional knowledge exchange, insights and collaborations. We invite you, therefore, to submit proposals for paper presentations, colloquia, practical workshops, demonstrations and poster displays, and join us at this international conference to explore various dimensions of English and to bring together different perspectives and different voices on teaching and researching EAP and ESP.

The Conference Organizing Committee and I look forward to welcoming you (back) to this academically and culturally enriching event and to meeting all of you in person in June 2017 in Hong Kong.