This study investigates the role of speaking the Jing language in the contemporary context of China's active engagement with Vietnam. Based on the fieldwork conducted in Dongxing Guangxi in January 2024, the study shows that the Jing language plays an important role in both maintaining the cultural heritage as pride and empowering the educational…

Studies of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in higher education institutions have focused on students' learning outcomes and intelligibility in ELF, but little attention has been given to local students' resistance to the use of ELF. Utilising the concept of language ideology and interactive regimes, I demonstrate the tensions and dilemma arising…

In most service activities, customer satisfaction depends largely on the direct interaction with service providers. In the case of tourism, this interaction often occurs between people from different countries and whose mother tongues are different. In this context, concepts such as cultural proximity, linguistic accommodation, expectations and…

As a result of the important role English has played as a lingua franca in various world regions, a question has been asked whether this Anglo-American property has already been shared by speakers in non-native countries. This concern voices calls for increased attention to ESL/EFL learners' sense of self and their positioning with respect to…

The position of the English language in the world has recently undergone an enormous shift. The global spread of English has altered its status from being a homogeneous and standard language spoken by a few powerful countries into an international language or lingua franca spoken by a wide variety of speakers around the world (Llurda, 2004). The…

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar…

ELF cross-cultural interactions and mediation processes in specialized migration settings are often characterized by 'gatekeeping' asymmetries between the participants involved challenging a successful meaning negotiation (Guido, 2008). The exploration of migration encounters (Sperti, 2017) is particularly useful in the analysis of naturally…

This paper reports on a research project in Responsible Tourism (Prayag, Hosany, & Odeh, 2013) carried out at the University of Salento in collaboration with the local administrations of some seaside resorts in Southern Italy affected by migrants' massive arrivals. This project, which involves tourists, migrants, university students in…

"Crossing borders" features prominently as a theme in study abroad, not only in terms of students' physical border crossings but also in their intercultural interactions with second language (L2) speakers whose background (linguistic and otherwise) they may perceive as markedly different from their own. Researchers have had a…

The increasingly international orientation of many higher education (HE) institutes and the growing role of English as an academic lingua franca have far-reaching implications for how we conceptualise universities and student mobility. In this paper, it is argued that the complexity and diversity of languages, communities and cultures present in…

This paper reports on an experimental study investigating alternative communication modes to English as a Lingua Franca. The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of different modes of communication and to gain insight in communication strategies used by interlocutors to solve referential conflicts. Findings show that ELF may not necessarily be…

English has assumed a new role in international communication in recent decades, that is, as a Lingua Franca (ELF) among speakers with different first languages. This study attempts to investigate and analyze Chinese university students' perception and production of paired English fricatives from the perspective of ELF. By using a listening…

The development of opportunities for teachers' professional development in plurilingual and intercultural education is a key issue in language teacher education and "intercomprehension" (IC) can provide a potential portal for the development of teachers' intercultural sensitivity. Particularly relevant to this is the creation of powerful…

In this narrative inquiry, I explored the role of language in the lives of six Russian-speaking immigrant teachers. Theoretical perspectives emphasized experience, context, and culture in understanding their beliefs, and language served as an interpretive lens through which the experiences were explored. The inquiry revealed the following…