Hello everyone! In this issue, we are excited to present a collection of reports from some of the most engaging CA conferences held in 2024. These reports offer a glimpse into the diverse applications of CA across fields like healthcare, technology, and language education, highlighting the discussions shaping the future of interactional research.
First, Virginia Calabria (Durham University) and Yicen Guo (Oxford University) share insights from the 8th International Meeting on Conversation Analysis and Clinical Encounters (CA&CE 2024), which brought together 96 scholars from 20 countries at Wolfson College, Oxford. Over three days, attendees engaged in presentations, data sessions, and keynotes on healthcare communication, addressing topics such as mental health assessments, patient-centered care, and AI. Click here for the full report.
An Kosurko and Tuire Oittinen offer an overview of the Technologized Social Interaction Seminar II, held at the University of Helsinki on May 13-14, 2024. This seminar explored the role of technologies like AI, robots, and digital tools in social interactions. Scholars discussed their impact on areas such as L2 learning and recruitment, with a focus on how technologies are perceived as resources, tools, or agents. The seminar also examined methodological challenges in researching technologized settings, including data collection and ethical considerations. Read the full report.
Tiziana Kowalczuk and Melissa Juillet (University of Neuchâtel) provide an overview of two conferences that offered rich discussions on language learning, interaction, and multilingualism. The Thinking, Doing, Learning (TDL) Conference (June 3-5, 2024, Kolding University) brought together researchers in usage-based linguistics and SLA to examine multimodality, cognition, and educational applications. Immediately following, the Fourth International Conference on Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language (ICOP-L2) explored second language interactional competences, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. A highlight was Olcay Sert’s plenary session, which bridged both events. Read more…
Finally, Yuhan Jiang (Teachers College, Columbia University) writes about the York Conference on Conversation Analysis (YorCCA 2024), held at the University of York on July 12th, 2024. This event provided a dynamic platform for postgraduate researchers to present their work and engage with experts in the field. The conference featured two plenary speakers, Dr. Rebecca Clift and Dr. Elliot Hoey, whose thought-provoking talks sparked engaging discussions. With eight diverse presentations on topics ranging from family interactions to medical emergency calls, the conference fostered meaningful exchanges and valuable feedback. To learn more, read the full report.
We hope these reports inspire further research and discussion, and we look forward to the continued growth of CA in the year ahead. As always, we invite our readers to contribute to the ISCA newsletter. If you have insights from a recent conference, new research, or reflections on conversation analysis, we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to share your work!
Announcements
The ICCA 2026 Organizing Committee is preparing for the upcoming ICCA in Edmonton in June 2026. They would appreciate input regarding pre-conference workshop offerings. Anyone with suggestions or thoughts on workshop topics is encouraged to respond to the questions in the provided form, ideally by Feb. 10, 2025.
The committee also invites individuals to share the survey with colleagues who may be interested in participating in the next ICCA conference. They look forward to receiving thoughts and ideas!