On October 17, 2025, SFS hosted online its 295th session of Foreign Language and Culture Forum, also serving as the 34th session of the Distinguished International Expert Series on Corpus Linguistics. The event brought together scholars and students to explore emerging tools and methods in corpus linguistics and digital humanities.

Titled "Concordance Reading: Basics and Innovations", the forum featured a thematic lecture by Professor Michaela Mahlberg, Humboldt Professor at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. This was followed by a high-level dialogue moderated by Professor Tony McEnery, Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Chair Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Professor Mahlberg traced the development of concordance analysis and shared practical experience from the RC21 project, introducing the newly developed FlexiConc tool and its application in the CLiC corpus. Professor McEnery supplemented the session with additional references and resources for further study.

During the dialogue, the two professors discussed the relationship between research questions and methods, critiques of corpus-based approaches, and the interdisciplinary applications of concordance analysis. They also responded to questions from attendees on AI-assisted analysis and methodological considerations in interdisciplinary research.

The forum showcased the latest advances and key challenges in concordance analysis and highlighted the role of digital tools in expanding the scope and depth of language research. It provided valuable insights and practical approaches for advancing corpus-based studies.