The interconnectedness of language, culture, and education underscores the growing importance of internationalization in higher education. This study explores the role of virtual exchange in advancing curricular internationalization through the experience of a Spanish PhD candidate participating in a virtual mobility program in Brazil. Employing a…

Erasmus student experiences currently seem to be closely linked to the neoliberal common sense, meaning that market-oriented motivations and consumerist behaviours can often be found in students' discourses and experiences. With this point in mind, in this qualitative inquiry, we focused on how a cohort of prospective English language teachers…

As in other countries, bilingual/multilingual education has become widespread in Spain. However, research either focuses on Spanish programs' implementation, students' performance or teacher training, but not on their contribution to graduates' self-perceived linguistic success (understood as a combination of intercultural competence,…

Multilingualism in European classrooms is the norm, not exception, and while the management of linguistic diversity is increasingly at the fore of language policy debates, policy engagement with the multilingual realities of schools continues to be inadequate, and the linguistic habitus of present-day education systems remains largely monolingual…

Although contexts of learning abroad have traditionally been conceived as optimal settings for language and intercultural learning, Researchers advocate the implementation of pedagogical interventions that promote qualitative intercultural dialogue and guidance in language and intercultural learning process. Yet, studies are needed that carefully…

While there is ample evidence that study abroad (SA) enhances oral fluency in a foreign language, the effects of different types of learning context on other aspects of oral skills, such as vocabulary use, have not received much attention in academic research and are less clear. The present study tries to fill this void by investigating lexical…

This article investigates 292 postgraduate students of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), through a Likert-scale questionnaire. This inquiry was about private, educational actions and learning valuation of a foreign language and its relation with the learning of one or several foreign languages. The analysis of…

Young European graduates are crossing borders to work abroad more often than in the past. This trend is particularly evident in Southern Europe, where recent economic downturn has significantly diminished professional opportunities and career prospects. This study will investigate Spain, a country where unemployment has increased dramatically…

The Erasmus student mobility programme allocates three explicit objectives to the experience of spending a few months studying in another European country: (1) to benefit students educationally, linguistically and culturally; (2) to promote co-operation between institutions and (3) to contribute to the development of a pool of well-qualified,…

There has been a constant advance of the labour markets and permanent reorientation towards digital Industry 4.0. Yet, the environments for learning remain unchallenged when it comes to the provision of new professionals across the globe. Therefore, this has created a gap in transversal competences, which has compelled students of higher learning…

Scholarly studies of international student mobility programs have increased during the last two decades, particularly following the Bologna Declaration. Nevertheless, a systematic review of international student mobility programs and the outcomes and benefits derived from participation in such programs has not been undertaken. This paper provides…

Virtual exchange is gaining popularity in formal and non-formal education, partly as a means to internationalise the curriculum, and also to offer more sustainable and inclusive international and intercultural experiences to young people around the world. This volume brings together 19 case studies (17 in higher education and two in youth work) of…

There is a lack of research on the impact of study abroad (SA) on the development of L2 English when students study in non-anglophone countries. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap by examining 39 Catalan/Spanish students who, as part of an Erasmus exchange, spent a term at universities in non-English-speaking European countries. In…

The requirement that students achieve accredited foreign language proficiency at B1 level in order to graduate from university or enrol for some postgraduate courses has prompted changes in language teaching in higher education in Spain. Given the clearly ineffective tuition received at earlier stages of their education, Spanish university…

This paper studies the situated meaning given to a so-called "welcome" service for international students at a Catalan university. The official business of the service is to offer support with bureaucratic procedures and information about available services, including those for learning Catalan. However, the complex range of overlapping…