The 2025 ASFLA conference – SFL in Dialogue for a Dynamic Future – invites scholars, educators, and practitioners to explore the evolving role of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in addressing the complex challenges of our rapidly changing world. At the heart of this conference theme is dialogue: dialogue across disciplines, cultures, modalities, and communities. Indeed, dialogue embodies the dynamic, negotiated nature of meaning-making and reflects SFL’s commitment to understanding language as a social semiotic system shaped by context.

This conference provides a platform to reflect on SFL’s rich theoretical foundations while envisioning new possibilities for SFL. In particular, the conference aims to:

Foster cross-generational and cross-disciplinary conversations within the SFL community
Showcase innovative research and applications of SFL in diverse settings
Strengthen SFL’s impact on social, educational, and technological landscapes
Explore how SFL can remain responsive and relevant in a dynamic future

Ultimately, we welcome contributions that spark dialogue, challenge assumptions, and inspire new directions for systemic functional research and practice. Of course, in the tradition of ASFLA conferences (and especially ASFLA conferences in Adelaide!), the conference theme of dialogue will extend beyond conference presentations. We also see this conference as an opportunity for productive dialogue in less formal, more ‘social’ settings; growing and nourishing the SFL community.

Please join us from 3-5 December 2025 at the City West campus of the University of South Australia.

Call for Papers Open Now!

Plenary and Keynote Speakers:

Associate Professor Victor Lim Fei, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Fei Victor Lim is Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Research), English Language and Literature, at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He researches and teaches on multiliteracies, multimodal discourse analyses, and digital learning. He is one of the editors for Multimodality and Society and an associate editor for Computers and Composition

Dr Georgia Carr Research Fellow, General Practice Clinical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.

Georgia Carr is Research Fellow in the Institute for Communication in Healthcare at the Australian National University and in the General Practice Clinical School at The University of Sydney. Her research is in functional linguistics, educational linguistics and health communication. In particular, her expertise is in discourse analysis, evaluative language and corpus linguistics, with a focus on sex education, health and media.

Bradley A. Smith, PhD (Linguistics), BA Hons 1st Class (Linguistics), Macquarie University, New South Wales.

Bradley Smith (PhD) has researched and taught on the phonology and discourse functions of intonation for twenty years, across various institutions in Australia and around the world, as well as on spoken and written discourse modes and multimodality. He is Honorary Associate (Research) at University of Sydney (Department of Linguistics) and teaches at UNSW (School of Education). He also produces an online YouTube course on intonation, Listening for Meaning, as Dr Semiosmith.

Conference costs (Opening Soon):

Full registration (for all x3 days): $450
Unwaged and students* (for all x3 days): $250
Single day: $200
Unwaged and students* (for single day): $100
A conference dinner will be held on the evening of Thursday 4 December: time, location and cost TBC.

*Scholarships for PhD students:
If you are a PhD student, you could be eligible for free conference registration and free accommodation. The conditions are: 1. that you must present at the conference (and by implication have your abstract accepted), and 2. provide a letter of support from your supervisor. NB: this is only eligible to PhD students and there will a cap on the number of scholarships. If you are a Masters by Research or Doctor of Education student, and wish to apply for a scholarship, please contact David Caldwell directly: david.caldwell@unisa.edu.au

Accommodation (Promo discount code coming soon):

Oaks Embassy 96 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000.
Oaks Horizons 104 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000.
iStay Precinct 185 Morphett St, Adelaide SA 5000.

Exploring Adelaide:

Proudly sponsored by:
ASFLA