Nikolay Slavkov

• Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative

• Bilingualism and Multilingualism

• Family Language Policy and Child Language Development

• Language Attrition and Reactivation

• Minority and heritage language acquisition and maintenance

• Second Language Acquisition Pedagogy and Technology

• Slavic Linguistics

I am interested in bilingualism and multilingualism from various perspectives, including linguistic, cognitive, social and pedagogical. I hold a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Ottawa and have taught in Canada, the United States, China and Bulgaria.

• 2020 – 2026: SSHRC Insight Grant (Principal Investigator). 
• 2017 – 2019: SSHRC Insight Development Grant (Principal Investigator). 
• 2016 – 2021: SSHRC Insight Grant (Co-Investigator).
• 2017: Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award.
• 2014 – 2016: Research Development Program Grant, University of Ottawa.
• 2013: Faculty of Arts Seed Grant, University of Ottawa.
• 2012: Seed Grant for Transitional and Exploratory Projects, Southern Illinois University.
• 2009 – 2010: Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Ottawa / SSHRC.
• 2005 – 2008: Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).
• 2005 – 2008: Excellence Scholarship, University of Ottawa.
• 2001 – 2003: International Tuition Scholarship, York University, Toronto.
• 1998 – 1999: Network Scholarship, Open Society Institute (OSI), New York.

• The Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative at the University of Ottawa: This pedagogical project aims to turn the university's bilingual campus into an authentic, "living and breathing" environment for language learning. The initiative recognizes that using a new language is a "risky" activity, in which langue learners may become uncomfortable because of making mistakes, being misunderstood, misunderstanding others, taking on a different identity, changing existing language use habits, and so on. This may cause learners to remain within the comfort zone of their preferred language and hesitate to take advantage of the myriad opportunities to practice the language they are learning across the university's bilingual campus. A Linguistic Risk-Taking Passport is available to language learners in select OLBI classes (French and English) and encourages them to take the skills they have acquired in class to authentic settings outside of the classroom and 'live' bilingually, using services and engaging in activities across the entire campus in their second official language on a daily basis. The project investigates the concept of linguistic-risk taking from research perspectives grounded in education and psychology.(CAD $274,102 SSHRC Insight Grant; CAD 45,000 Canadian Heritage Grant; CAD $ 21,013 Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost, uOttawa; CAD $ 5,000 Faculty of Arts/OLBI Chair in Language Management). PI: Nikolay Slavkov; Team members: please click here.
• Re-imagining Language Background Profiling at Canadian Elementary Schools: Towards Bilingual and Multilingual Norms. A project exploring the number, type and orientation of student language profiling questionnaires administered at elementary schools across Canada. SSHRC Insight Development Grant (CAD $64,012). PI: Nikolay Slavkov; Collaborator: Sylvie Lamoureux. 
• The Discourse Skills of Monolingual and Bilingual School-aged Children: A large-scale interdisciplinary project seeking to establish conversation, narration and expository norms among monolingual and bilingual children (ages 7 to 12, speakers of English, French, Arabic and Mandarin) at five Canadian locations (Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto). SSHRC Insight Grant (CAD $365,096). PI: P. Cleave; CIs: E. Kay-Raining Bird, P. Cormier, A. MacLeod, E. Mainela-Arnold, N. Slavkov, A. Sutton, N. Trudeau; Collaborator: A. Nockerts.
• Childhood Bilingualism and Multilingualism: A project investigating home language use and school language choice as two interconnected variables with a strong differential impact on a child’s potential development as a bilingual or multilingual speaker in the Canadian context of official bilingualism and multiple minority/heritage languages.
• Imperfective variation across Slavic and Romance (with María Luisa Rivero and Ana Arregui): Comparison of syntax and semantics of imperfective constructions across Slavic and Romance languages.

• BIL 5120 Special Topics: Native Speakerism (graduate)
• BIL 5120 Special Topics: Multilingualism
• BIL 5101 Issues in Bilingualism Studies (graduate) 
• BIL 5106 Second / Foreign Language Skills (graduate) 
• DLS 3110 Teaching Grammar
• DLS 2102 Speaking and Writing
• DLS3120 Phonetics Applied to Second Language Teaching
• ESL3373 Vocabulary Development for Second Language Learners
• ESL2361 Writing Skills for Second Language Learners: Advanced Level I
• LIN1310 Introduction to Linguistics: From Words to Utterances

Vetter, E. & Slavkov, N. (2022) Multilingual education and how to learn to teach multilingual learning. AILA Review Special Issue.

Slavkov, N., Melo-Pfeifer, S., & Kerschfofer-Puhalo, N. (Eds.) (2021) The Changing Face of the Native Speaker: Perspectives from Multilingualism and Globalization. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 400 p.

Roodi, F. & Slavkov, N. (2022). Gamification in L2 Teaching and Learning: Linguistic Risk-Taking at Play. OLBI Journal.

Slavkov, N. (2022). A journey to multilingualism. In G. Prasad, N. Auger, & E. Le Pichon (Eds.), Multilingualism and Education: Researchers’ Pathways and Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Griffiths, E. & Slavkov, N. (2021) Linguistic risk-taking: A bridge between classroom and outside world. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 24, 2, 127-158.

Rhéaume, M., Slavkov, N. & Séror, J. (2021) Linguistic risk-taking in second language learning: The case of French at a Canadian Bilingual Institution Foreign Language Annals, 1-24. DOI: 10.1111/flan.12561.

Slavkov, N., Melo-Pfeifer, S. & Kerschfofer-Puhalo, N. (2021). Introduction. In Slavkov, Nikolay, Melo-Pfeifer, Silvia and Kerschhofer-Puhalo, N. (Eds.), The Changing Face of the Native Speaker: Perspectives from Multilingualism and Globalization (pp. 1-22). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

Kerschofer-Puhalo, N. & Slavkov, N. (2021). Questioning the Questions: Institutional and Individual Perspectives on Plurilingualism. In Slavkov, Nikolay, Melo-Pfeifer, Silvia and Kerschhofer-Puhalo, N. (Eds.), The Changing Face of the Native Speaker: Perspectives from Multilingualism and Globalization (pp. 313-343). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

Slavkov, N. (2021) Family Language Policy and Dominant Language Constellations: A Canadian Perspective. In L. Aronin and E. Vetter (Eds.), Dominant Language Constellations Approach in Education and Language Acquisition (pp. 87-108). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Slavkov, N. (2020) Where the Magic Happens: Fostering Language Learning, Bilingualism and Multilingualism through Linguistic Risk-Taking. In T. Tinnefeld (Ed.), The Magic of Language: Productivity in Linguistics and Language Teaching. (pp. 47-69). Saarbrücken, Germany: Saarland University of Applied Sciences Press.

Slavkov, N. (2020) Language Background Profiling at Canadian Elementary Schools and Dominant Language Constellations. In L. Aronin and J. Lo Bianco (Eds.), Dominant Language Constellations: A New Perspective on Multilingualism (pp. 117-138.) Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Slavkov, N. Séror, J. (Eds.) (2019) Translanguaging: Opportunities and Challenges in a Global World, Cahiers de l’ILOB/OLBI Journal, 10., 319 p.

Séror, J., & Slavkov, N. (2019) Soutenir la prise de risques linguistiques chez l’apprenant langagier. Journal de l’immersion / Immersion Journal, 41, 1, 9-13.

Slavkov, N. & Séror, J. (2019) Introduction. Translanguaging: Opportunities and Challenges in a Global World, Cahiers de l’ILOB/OLBI Journal, 10, 4-12.

Slavkov, N., Séror, J. (2019). ''The Development of the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative at a Bilingual Post-Secondary Institution in Canada'', Canadian Modern Language Review, 75(3), pp. 254-272, doi: https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2018-0202

Slavkov, N. (2018) “What is your ‘first’ language in bilingual Canada? A study of language background profiling at publicly-funded elementary schools across three provinces”, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, ,21(1), 20-37, doi: 10.1080/13670050.2015.1126217.

Hamel, M-J, Inkpen, D., Slavkov, N., Xiao, D. (2017) "MyAnnotator: An error annotation tool for language teachers." Revue TAL, 57(3), 119 à 142.

Rivero, M. L., Arregui, A. and Slavkov, N. (2017) “The grammaticalization of ‘big’ situations: The IMPF operator and perfective imperfects in Bulgarian”. In Fernández-Soriano, Olga, Elena Castroviejo and Isabel Pérez-Jiménez (Eds.), Boundaries, Phases and Interfaces. Case studies in honor of Violeta Demonte (pp. 151-172). Amsterdam, NL: Benjamins.

Slavkov, N. (2016) "Family Language Policy and School Language Choice: Pathways to Bilingualism and Multilingualism in a Canadian Context", International Journal of Multilingualism. 14:4, 378-400, DOI: 10.1080/14790718.2016.1229319

Slavkov, N. (2016), "In Search of the Right Questions: Language Background Profiling at Ontario Public Schools", Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19, 1, 22-45.

Rivero, M.L., Arregui, A., Slavkov, N. (2016) “Grammaticalizing the Size of Situations: The Case of Bulgarian”, Proceedings of the 33rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (WCCFL33), ed. Kyeong-min Kim, Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Slavkov, N. (2015) “Sociocultural Theory, the L2 Writing Process, and Google Drive: Strange Bedfellows?” TESL Canada Journal 32, 2, 80-94.

Slavkov, N. (Ed.) (2015)“Littératies et autonomie des apprenants avancés de langue(s) / Literacies and Autonomy of Advanced Language Learners” , Cahiers de l'ILOB/OLBI Journal 7, 160 p.

Slavkov, N. (2014), "Language attrition and reactivation in the context of bilingual first language acquisition", International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18(6), 715-734. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2014.94178518(6)

Slavkov, N. (2014) “Long-distance wh- movement and long-distance wh- movement avoidance in L2 English: Evidence from French and Bulgarian speakers”, Second Language Research, 31, 179-210. doi:10.1177/0267658314554939

Rivero, M. and Slavkov, N. (2014) "Imperfect(ive) variation: the case of Bulgarian", Lingua 150, 232-277. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2014.07.019.

Slavkov, N. (2012) “A Fine Balance: Shifts between passive and active bilingualism.” Proceedings of the 2012 meeting of the Canadian Linguistic Association (CLA).

Slavkov, N. (2011) “Derivational Complexity Effects in L2 Acquisition.” In Proceedings of the 4th Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America Conference (GALANA4). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Slavkov, N. (2009) The acquisition of complex wh- questions in the L2 English of Canadian French and Bulgarian speakers: Medial wh- constructions, inversion phenomena, and avoidance strategies. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Ottawa.

Slavkov, N. (2008a) “Formal consequences of dative clitic-doubling in Bulgarian ditransitives: An applicative analysis.” Journal of Slavic Linguistics 16, 1, 139-66.doi: 10.1353/jsl.0.0012

Slavkov, N. (2008b) “Medial wh- words and inversion phenomena in complex questions: the case of Canadian French speakers acquiring L2 English.” In Proceedings of the 9th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2007), ed. Roumyana Slabakova et al., 218-232. Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Slavkov, N. (2007) “Clitics and argument position: evidence for the double object construction in Bulgarian.” In Linguistic Investigations into Formal Description of Slavic Languages: Contributions of the Sixth European Conference (FDSL 2005), ed. Peter Kosta and Lilia Schürcks, 333-343. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Slavkov, N. (2022) Innovation, ideological change, and technology: OR how to foster multilingualism. Keynote at the 2022 MEHR|SPRACHLICHE|BILDUNG – Linguistic Diversity as an Opportunity and Challenge in Educational Contexts Conference, University of Cologne, Germany, Aug-Sept 2022.

Thamin, N., Moore, D. & Slavkov, N. (2022). Pratiques didactiques à la maternelle en contexte plurilingue et hybride. Colloque international en éducation, Université de Montréal, CRIFPE9, Montréal, May 2022.

Slavkov N. (2022) Labels in Research and Practice: A useful tool, an object to dispose of, or a necessary evil? Presentation at Invited Colloquium “Labelling Language and Language Learning. On continuing hegemonic thinking, essentialisms and epistemic justice” organized by Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta. American Association of Applied

Linguistics Conference (AAAL2022), Pittsburgh, USA, March 2022.

Cajka, S., Griffiths, E., Slavkov, N. & Vetter, E. (2021) Linguistic Risk-Taking and Informal Language Learning: From Canada to Austria. Presentation at Thematic Symposium S091: Learning through leisure: Informal Second Language Learning in the 21st century. Congress of the International Applied Linguistics Association (AILA 2021), Groningen, Netherlands, August 15 - 20, 2021.

Thamin, N., Moore, D. & Slavkov, N. (2021) À l’heure de la pandémie en maternelle à l’école. Presentation for Agence pour l’enseignement français à l’étranger (French Agency for French Education Abroad), Washington, D.C., June 17, 2021.

Slavkov, N. (2021) It takes two to tango: Family Language Policy and larger societal forces in multilingual contexts. Invited panel presentation at Family Language Policy Panel organized by Laxmi Ojha. American Association of Applied Linguistics Virtual Conference (AAAL2021), Vancouver, BC, March 20-23, 2021.

Slavkov, N. (2021) Invited panelist at the National Best Practices Forum on Official Languages of the Canadian Federal Government “From Linguistic Insecurity to Linguistic Security: Coaching, Resilience and Risk-Taking.”, Ottawa, March 3, 2021.

Slavkov, N. (2020) Beyond Bilingualism: Digitally Mediated Linguistic Risk-Taking as an LX user. Presentation at the Symposium of the European Society Platform for Multilingualism (ECSPM 2020) “Linguistic and Cultural (Super)Diversity at Work: From theory and policy to action and (digital) practices”, Tilburg, Netherlands, December 7-9, 2020.

Slavkov, N. (2019) On the notion of risk in the learning and use of English in Canada. Keynote at TESL Ontario, Ottawa, Canada, Nov 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) Language (In)Security? Introducing the Linguistic Risk-Taking Passport and Phone App. Invited bilingual workshop at Officially 50! A Conference Marking 50 Years of Linguistic Duality and Education in Canada. Organized by the Association for Canadian Studies, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and Canadian Parents for French, Gatineau, QC, Nov 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) The role of risk-taking in learning and using languages. Invited presentation at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Federal Public Service, Government of Canada. Ottawa, Nov. 14, 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) Fostering Language Learning through Linguistic Risk-Taking. Keynote at the 5th Saarbrücken Conference on Foreign Language Teaching, Saarbrücken, Germany, Oct 2019.

Kerschhofer-Puhalo, N. & Slavkov, N. (2019) Languages Foregrounded or Backgrounded? An Examination of Complex Repertoires. Presentation at the Languages in an Open World (LOW19) Conference, Graz, Austria, Oct 2019.

Griffiths, E., Slavkov, N., Farzi, R, Cook, M. (2019) Communication Strategy Instruction: opportunities created by Linguistic Risk-Taking. Presented at the Third International Conference on Situating Strategy Use. Osaka, Japan, October 13-15, 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) Family Language Policy, Language of Schooling, and Plurilingualism. Invited panel presentation at “Does a plurilingual approach optimize student success in all contexts? Language hierarchy and inclusivity in International Languages classrooms and other minority language contexts” organized by Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) and the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association (OMLTA). Educlang 2019 Conference, Ottawa, Sept 2019.

Slavkov, N. & Griffiths, E. (2019) The Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative: Overview, Theoretical Insights, and Implementation. Presentation at the 8th International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), Carleton University, Ottawa, August 19-21, 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) Plurilingual World, Monolingual Norms: A Dynamic Perspective on the Notion of the Native Speaker. Presentation at the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (CAAL). Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 2019.

Griffiths, E., Slavkov, N. & Kaur Saran, G. (2019) The development of a mobile application to promote linguistic risk-taking. Presentation at the Illinois Language and Linguistics Society 11, Urbana, IL, USA, April 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2019) School Registration Forms: A Modern Day Mediation Tool? Invited presentation at the Symposium of the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism (ECSPM-2019). University of Reading, UK, March 2019.

Slavkov, N. (2018) ''Paradigm Shifts, Multilingualism and Linguistic Risk-Taking'' Plenary at the Symposium of the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism, (ECSPM-2018), Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, September 2018.

Slavkov, N. (2018) ''Family Language Policy and Dominant Language Constellations: A Canadian Perspective.'' Invited presenter in the Symposium on Dominant Language Constellations in Education and Social Contexts. Organized by Eva Vetter & Larissa Aronin at the 11th International Conference on Multilingualism and Third Language Acquisition. Lisbon, Portugal, September 2018.

Slavkov, N., Marshall, S. (2017) "New Speakerness and Native Speakerness in Language Background Profiling at Canadian Elementary Schools" Paper presented at the 11th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB 11), Limerick, Ireland, June 2017.

Brooksbank, J. & Slavkov, N. (2017) "Family Language Policy: Do Parents Prefer Less Effective Parental Discourse Strategies to More Effective Ones?" Paper presented at the 11th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB 11), Limerick, Ireland, June 2017.

Slavkov, N. (2017) "Family Language Policy Perspectives on Bilingualism and Multilingualism in Ontario" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (CAAL), Toronto, May 2017.

Slavkov, N. (2016) "Pathways to a third language in Canada: Insights from family language policy and school choice" Paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Multilingualism and Third Language Acquisition (IAML3 10), Vienna, September 2016,

Slavkov, N. (2016) "Student Language Profiling at Canadian Elementary Schools: Awareness of Bilingualism and Multilingualism in the Educational System" Paper presented at the 13th International Conference of the Association for Language Awareness (ALA 13), Vienna, July 2016

Slavkov, N. (2015) “What Is Your First Language? . . . Is This the Right Question?” Paper presented at  the Annual meeting of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (ACLA/CAAL), Toronto, March 2015.

Rivero, M., Arregui, A., Slavkov, N. (2015) “Grammaticalizing ‘big’ situations in Bulgarian” Paper presented at the Canadian Linguistic Association (ACL/CLA) Annual Meeting, Ottawa, May 2015.

Slavkov, N. (2015) “Bilingualism and Multilingualism: Socialization, Input and Schooling” Invited presentation: Carleton University Speaker Series, School of Linguistics and Language Studies, Ottawa, February 2015.

Dansereau, M.C., Movassat, P., Slavkov, N., Hamel, M.J. (2015) “Grammaire, technologie et écriture: A Synced Approach” CCERBAL Symposium (four papers) presented at the World Congress of Modern Languages / Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers, Niagara Falls, ON, April 2015.

Slavkov, N. (2015) “Monolingualism, Bilingualism and Multilingualism: Home and School Languages in a Canadian Context” Paper presented at What Accent Do You Speak: Symposium on Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Canada, Department of Modern Langauges, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, February 2015.

Slavkov, N (2014) “Acquisition and maintenance of two first languages: Socialization and input” Paper presented at the Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics, Washington, D.C., March 2014.

Slavkov, N. (2014) “Acquisition and maintenance of Bulgarian in a bilingual context” Paper presented at the Contemporary Bulgarian Studies Workshop, Congress on Bulgarian Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2013.

Slavkov, N. (2012) “Childhood bilingualism: A case of language attrition and recovery” Presentation at the 31st Second Language Research Forum, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Oct. 18-21, 2012.

Slavkov, N. (2012) “A Fine Balance: Shifts between passive and active bilingualism” Presentation at the annual meeting of the Canadian Linguistic Association (CLA), Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, Canada. May 26-28, 2012.

Slavkov, N. (2010) “Derivational complexity effects in L2 Acquisition” Poster presentation at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America Conference (GALANA), Toronto, Canada. September 2–5, 2010.

Slavkov, N. (2009) “Mechanisms of long-distance wh- movement avoidance in the spoken productions of French-Canadian and Bulgarian learners of L2 English”  Presented at the European Second Language Association Conference (EUROSLA 19), Cork, Ireland. September 2–5, 2009.

Slavkov, N. (2008) “Long-distance wh- movement or sequential questions: Medial wh- constructions in the L2 English of French and Bulgarian speakers” Paper presented at the Facing Movement Workshop, Barcelona, Spain. August 23–24, 2008.