Research on Portuguese language exams in the language assessment field remains scarce. To bridge this gap, this study examined washback from the large-scale, high-stakes Portuguese proficiency tests created by the Center of Evaluation of Portuguese as a Foreign Language ("Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira," or CAPLE as…

German university degrees, at least in some countries, offer students only German literature courses in addition to language courses. Linguistics is often not a core component of German degree programmes. As a result, students who are not familiar with basic linguistic terminology do not know how languages work, including their mother tongue, or…

Self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies have received significant attention among researchers and become the topic of many empirical studies, since they are believed to significantly influence achievement levels in acquiring a foreign language. The current research investigated the SRL strategies most commonly employed by Vietnamese English as a…

English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has been increasingly used in Higher Education institutions in countries where English is spoken as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Research over the last decade has predominantly focused on EMI implementation, perceptions, and attitudes of stakeholders towards EMI as well as the challenges…

This paper analyses the language educator's experience of delivering an Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) in an Irish University. It uses a focus group to explore the experiences of six International Language Tutors who delivered modules on a pilot IWLP between 2021 and 2024. The findings indicate that designing and delivering the…

It is undeniable that English has become the worldwide lingua franca for the academic world. Many countries have therefore opted for Higher Education programmes fully in English, of which the Netherlands is the frontrunner. Language policies that include drawing on students plurilingual repertoires could offer the opportunity to employ several…

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.…

Students with a mother tongue other than English often struggle with the demands of an academic programme at tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English. If their English language proficiency is inadequate, it may hamper their academic progress. Students feel that their command of English is unsatisfactory, and this causes…

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001). Offers a comprehensive framework for learning, teaching, and assessment, promoting transparency and coherence in language education. Central to the CEFR is its action-oriented approach, which views language as situated social action and positions learners as…

This study investigates the relationship between attitudinal and non-attitudinal variables that impact digital technology use by EFL students in Vietnam. An adapted questionnaire was administered to 1,005 students from different tertiary courses. The results showed that students have a positive attitude to the use of technology and sometimes apply…

Emotion research in second language acquisition has flourished under the growing influence of Positive Psychology in recent years. The present study focuses on foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) of 263 Chinese undergraduates in relation to learner variables as well as the sources of enjoyment and anxiety…

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…

The aim of this activity report is to provide an initial appraisal of the current makeup of the professional group of modern foreign language teachers in UK Higher Education. The report is in two parts: a literature review that identifies the main defining qualities of modern foreign languages teachers, and an evaluation of the professional and…

For Chinese EFL students, learning English has always been a great challenge, and research has shown that cognitive and affective factors increasingly become important issues in the field of foreign language learning and teaching (Naderifar and Esfandiari 2016). This study is designed to investigate the relationship between learner autonomy,…

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…