{"id":2113,"date":"2026-04-06T16:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pmatsuda.net\/sslw\/?page_id=2113"},"modified":"2026-04-16T11:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:12:44","slug":"2026-plenary-speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pmatsuda.net\/sslw\/2026-plenary-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Plenary Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Betsy<\/figure>
\n

Reclaiming meaning from the machine in second language writing<\/strong><\/a>
Betsy Gilliland, University of Hawai\u2018i at M\u0101noa, USA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Professor and Chair, Department of Second Language Studies, the University of Hawa\u02bbi M\u0101noa (USA);
Co-editor, Journal of Response to Writing<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Miyuki<\/figure>
\n

Reframing humanity in L2 writing education: Teachers and learners in the age of AI<\/strong><\/a>
Miyuki Sasaki, Waseda University, Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Professor of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, Japan<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Reclaiming meaning from the machine in second language writing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Betsy Gilliland<\/strong>
University of Hawai\u2018i at M\u0101noa, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students have long complained about having to take mandatory writing classes, arguing that they do not see the purpose given their future goals or preferences. GenAI has compounded this argument, as students often perceive that large language models can do everything they need to do in writing, and do it without grammatical errors. In such circumstances, teachers may also feel that GenAI can correct any remaining grammatical errors more accurately\u2014and more rapidly\u2014than they can. We are in an era when students submit texts written by GenAI that their teachers then use GenAI to grade and that no human may ever read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s missing in this perspective is WHY we write\u2014the actual meaning of writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this talk, I argue that we must bring meaning back into writing instruction. Student writers should know that real people will read their texts, for reasons well beyond giving a grade. Course curriculum focused on real-world genres, as opposed to assessment essays, can help students find meaning in learning to write. Such genres also have real-world audiences, which give students readers beyond the classroom who will appreciate hearing their authentic voices. The entire writing process should be social, from brainstorming discussions to collaborative outlining and drafting; from peer response and writing conferences to celebrations of publication. When teachers and students share in the process and reflect together, students feel like they have a voice, and teachers learn to recognize each student\u2019s unique voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing together my own work on adolescent literacy and response to second language writing with discussions of project-based learning and genre pedagogy, I propose opportunities for teachers to guide their students, their colleagues, and their politicians toward recognition of the truly human values inherent in real-world writing. With dedication and focus, we can reclaim the humanity in writing from the machine.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Betsy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Betsy Gilliland<\/strong> is Professor and Chair of the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawa\u02bbi at M\u0101noa, USA. Her research examines multilingual adolescent literacy, response to writing, and language teachers as researchers. As a Fulbright Scholar in 2018, she spent a semester working with the Languages program at Universidad de Atacama (Chile) and has taught L2 writing in the US, Uzbekistan, and Thailand. She is co-editor of the open-access Journal of Response to Writing<\/a><\/em><\/em> and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Second Language Writing<\/a>; Journal of Language, Identity and Education; <\/em>andTESL-EJ<\/em>. She recently co-authored the book Beyond Plagiarism: Transforming Pedagogy to Help Students Write with Sources<\/em> (University of Michigan Press) and co-edited EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development: Voices from Under-Represented Contexts<\/em> (Multilingual Matters).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return to 2026 Plenary Speakers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Reframing humanity in L2 writing education:<\/strong>
Teachers and learners in the age of AI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Miyuki Sasaki<\/strong>
Waseda University, Japan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of SSLW 2026 invites us to reconsider what it means to teach writing as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms writing practices. In this talk, I explore the humanity of L2 writing education from two perspectives: learners and teachers. Sustaining this humanity requires recognizing learners as whole persons whose development is shaped by multilingual resources and social contexts, while supporting teachers\u2019 agency and well-being as they navigate AI-related challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part presents three insights from research on L2 writing development that foreground learner humanity, framed within a non-deficit, socially situated, whole-person view of multilingual learners. Research on machine translation as feedback shows that multilingual resources, including learners\u2019 first languages, function as productive tools rather than deficits. Studies of AI-mediated writing show that learners can appropriate AI as a mediational tool while developing writer agency. Longitudinal research shows that L1 and L2 writing development unfold through interactions between personal goals and social contexts. Together, these studies reconceptualize learners as agentive, socially embedded individuals whose development extends beyond language alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part turns to writing teachers and examines how this reconceptualization of humanity may be taken up in practice. Although applied linguistics research often proposes pedagogical implications, little is known about whether such ideas influence teachers\u2019 thinking or professional flourishing. With this in mind, I report on a pilot intervention study with Japanese university teachers of English L2 writing. Over four months, participants read and reflected on practitioner-oriented articles based on a non-deficit view of learners, attention to social context, and a whole-person perspective, as well as their implications for L2 writing pedagogy, including AI-supported practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By bringing together learner humanity, teacher humanity, and AI-mediated writing, this talk argues that the future of L2 writing education lies not in resisting technological change but in reframing how teachers and learners enact human agency, expanding multilingual resources, and fostering purposeful communication.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Miyuki<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Miyuki Sasaki<\/strong> is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences at Waseda University, Japan. Her research focuses on second language writing, with particular emphasis on writer agency in AI-mediated contexts and on the roles of textual features and reader characteristics in L2 text comprehensibility. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as Language Learning, Modern Language Journal, Language Testing, and Journal of Second Language Writing. She has also contributed chapters to volumes published by Multilingual Matters, Kluwer Academic, and Blackwell. She has served on the editorial boards of TESOL Quarterly<\/em>, Language Testing<\/em>, and currently Journal of Second Language Writing<\/a><\/em><\/em>, and was the first Japanese member of the TOEFL Committee of Examiners (2007\u20132011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return to 2026 Plenary Speakers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reclaiming meaning from the machine in second language writingBetsy Gilliland, University of Hawai\u2018i at M\u0101noa, USA Professor and Chair, Department of Second Language Studies, the University of Hawa\u02bbi M\u0101noa (USA);Co-editor, Journal of Response to Writing Reframing humanity in L2 writing education: Teachers and learners in the age of AIMiyuki Sasaki, Waseda University, Japan Professor of Applied…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2113","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n2026 Plenary Speakers - Symposium on Second Language Writing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pmatsuda.net\/sslw\/2026-plenary-speakers\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/pmatsuda.net\/sslw\/2026-plenary-speakers\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2026 Plenary Speakers - 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