In this paper, we will examine the problematic concept of the native speaker, which is central to much linguistic theory, to studies of language acquisition, and to language teaching and assessment. It is a notion which can have ramifications when it comes to the recruitment of language teachers in schools and in university language centres.…

Using Chinese language teaching in an engineering department as an example, this paper explores how language teaching can meet the challenges of globalisation and the advancement of technology by fulfilling its educational function as described in Byram's model of intercultural communicative competence. By adapting theories and practices from…

This activity report describes a sample unit (Effective Data Presentation) from a communication course prepared as part of an Intellectual Output within the BADGE Project, which was carried out by 12 partner universities from 10 countries during 3 academic years (2019-2022). The article first describes the results of a survey which show that…

The recent developments concerning the use of foreign languages in the academic world have strongly favoured English, which has become the preferred medium for international communication in many contexts. This spread of English as a lingua franca has had relevant implications for teaching and research purposes, due to the need for a common…

In this paper, we explore how language centres can and need to seize the initiative in matters of internationalisation, language policy and supporting a multilingual and multicultural institutional environment. We identify and explore a number of challenges and opportunities, using the situation in the United Kingdom as our example, demonstrating…

This article is my answer to the question: What is your vision of university language centres in the 21st century? I argue that language centres can best establish themselves as beacons of good practice by embracing, exploring and further developing the concept of plurilingualism, promoting the autonomy of their students, and constructively…

International engagement has become a priority and is regarded as a means to improve the quality of students' education and their future social and professional success. It may, however, pose a major challenge for some higher education students. One of the vulnerable groups is that of learners with special needs, and particularly Deaf, deaf and…

This paper draws on two research activities to discuss the role of research at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 1997, the CLL introduced languages for all into this Caribbean higher education (HE) context. The CLL also introduced an expanded…

We report on research conducted during a language assessment literacy (LAL) project set up for employees at a university language centre. Teachers, students and an external accreditation body requested a revision of the end-of-course exams to increase comparability, transparency and alignment to course aims. We used a collaborative approach where…

In the present article, we demonstrate the utility of Open Badge certifications in documenting ESP, EAP and EMI courses. Open Badges are online records of achievement which document field-specific, soft and technical skills. They consist of a visual image and a set of embedded metadata, they are endorsed by the institution which issues them and…

Migration has become an important phenomenon in the contemporary world. In receiving countries, language policies have been put into place to offer migrants education in the national language, in order to give them tools to communicate with and to create a feeling of belonging to the local community. These policies claim to be integration…

The refugee is the person who has fled his or her country for reasons of war, racial discrimination, vengeance, sectarian massacres or other reasons. Many refugees have left everything behind them to reach a society that is completely different from their own, creating many challenges. Perhaps the most important of these challenges is to learn the…

Language teaching centres have been tasked predominantly with ensuring that prospective and enrolled students are able to fulfil established language criteria required for both domestic and international study programmes. It is less common, however, that language centres are responsible for ensuring the language and communicative skills of…

Autonomy and self-learning are ongoing challenges for universities generally, and for their language centres specifically when it comes to language learning and acquisition. The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia has always paid attention to both fostering autonomy in its learners and developing customized language learning activities. Among…

I begin this article by briefly explaining why I think CercleS should encourage university language centres to align their courses and assessment with the proficiency levels of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR) and why they should use a version of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) to support the…