This program profile describes the establishment and development of the English Language Learner Writing Center (ELLWC) at Miami University. The Center's mission is to help multilingual (ML) students whose first language (L1) is other than English build writing skills while improving their academic English proficiency. The ELLWC's profile details…

While more and more universities in traditionally non-Anglophone countries are moving towards English medium instruction (EMI), those of the nominally Anglophone postcolonial world are carrying on with business as usual. Higher education in many postcolonial countries has typically only ever been available through the language of the former…

"The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment" (CEFR) (Council of Europe. 2001. "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) has been widely accepted as a reference for aligning curricula, learning…

Cultural awareness is essential in foreign language education. This paper explores two projects that exemplify the integration of cultural elements into foreign language learning involving both first language (L1) and second language (L2) cultures. The first project was initiated in the course "German Cinema". It focuses on the legendary…

The COVID-19 pandemic sent New Zealand universities into crisis, and as a key crisis response measure, classes were mostly moved online. While navigating national public health settings, educators simultaneously had to innovate quickly: to keep our courses in operation, students learning, and quality pedagogy present. The author has been…

Integrated assessment evaluates language proficiency through tasks that require the test-taker to produce a written or spoken output based on listening or reading comprehension (reading or listening-into-writing or speaking). Since integrated assessment aims at reflecting the communicative and cognitive requirements of academic life and other…

To address the demands from their courses, students with insufficient language proficiency who cannot attend the standard subject-specific academic language development program are directed to an alternative discipline-specific program -- the Language Development Tutorial in Block mode, at the University of Technology Sydney. This practice report…

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, undergraduate institution that educates and trains its students (cadets) to become future leaders in the US Army officer corps. The Department of Foreign Languages (DFL) at West Point plays an integral role in developing cadets' cultural and linguistic competencies in preparation for…

This paper shows how Task-Based Learning (TBL) is used to equip second-year Spanish students at Cardiff University for their placements during their year abroad. We present a set of task-based projects embedded within the curriculum to enhance both (1) the competences students have to acquire throughout their degree, and (2) the skills to overcome…

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) standardized English language proficiency (ELP) exam is widely accepted proof of ELP at Canadian universities. The majority of Canadian universities set very similar IELTS cut scores for admission; however, these differ from the IELTS-recommended minimum cut scores. The use of the IELTS…

This work is a contribution to the usefulness of climate-related authentic material for pedagogical purposes in Higher Education. The two case studies had the aim of raising environmental awareness of a sustainable future among university students, while encouraging them to explore language use and draw their own conclusions and considerations…

The Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA) at Michigan State University (MSU) was awarded a U.S. federally funded two-year grant in 2014 to investigate the status of proficiency, and the promotion of proficiency, in foreign language programs. The grant was awarded to Paula Winke and Susan Gass, as principal investigators. The purpose of…

Whereas major research universities may accommodate programs of study in Arabic, Chinese, or Persian, regional universities and liberal arts colleges have struggled to adapt to a wider and more complex array of world languages and literatures in the 21st century. Many have been forced to choose between radically restructuring or closing programs…

At a time when language programs around the United States are in crisis--the University of Rhode Island's Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures is realigning its curriculum to emphasize proficiency and intercultural competence within a strong liberal arts context. The result of the department's recent initiatives? More than…

In a typically monolingual state, those students who do possess a second language are poised to better integrate themselves into the international business community, yet, possessing (for example) a Spanish degree does not indicate proficiency. Unless students have been exposed to a variety of subjects relating to law, health care, business, and…