The steady increase in content courses being taught through the medium of English in non-Anglophone countries has been matched by a rapidly growing output of research and commentary on the topic. There are also a number of providers now offering professional development for English Medium Instruction (EMI) teachers. We carried out a systematic…

This innovations in practice article introduces a chatbot that was developed to support and motivate second language learners during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chatbot was designed to facilitate active, out-of-class language learning to supplement in-class input. It can adapt to learners' abilities and pace by chatting with them, thus providing…

Language tests are increasingly being used as gatekeeping tools in a globalised world. This article examines the processes of linguistic gatekeeping by the use of language tests in the context of migration. We draw on half a dozen cases of test-takers of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test who applied for entry into…

Although English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs for matriculated students have been a presence in U.S. higher education since the 1940s, little has been documented in the literature concerning ESL courses, ESL placement tests, and the procedures in which incoming students are placed into appropriate classes.The present study takes three…

This paper reports on the experience of seven Saudi female ESL students who worked collaboratively in an interactive online writing environment over a period of four weeks. It chronicles their experiences with online writing tasks, documents their responses to online feedback, and examines their attempts to cope with different settings and…