CASLAR is a biennial conference with the goal to bring together scholars from all over the world whose research focuses on the acquisition, development and use of Chinese as a second language to survey available knowledge in the field, exchange ideas and initiate research projects. The conference is a part of the CASLAR movement that aims to transform a field from a primarily experienced-and practice-based discipline into a discipline based on and supported by research and theory. The first CASLAR conference was held at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou in 2010, the second one was in Taipei, Taiwan in 2012, and the third conference was held in Parma, Italy in 2014. Another means supporting the CASLAR movement is a new bilingual journal Chinese as a Second Language Research 汉语作为第二语言研究 published by De Gruyter Mouton; Berlin/New York, which will be inaugurated at the conference. Copies of the journal will be available at the conference. W