This paper presents the findings of a survey on research activities and research cultures across the CercleS network. The survey was conducted under the auspices of the CercleS Focus Group on Leadership and Management and aimed to explore the scope of research in Language Centres; the links between institutional factors such as staff contracts and…

Many English language tutors have little training in working with traumatised students, especially regarding second language acquisition. A literature review was undertaken on work carried out to identify issues surrounding memory and retention in relation to second language acquisition in traumatised adult refugees, as well as the link between…

This qualitative phenomenological study investigates international instructors' perspectives and experiences in designing a successful language-based massive open online course (L-MOOC). Detailed information was gathered during Summer 2018 about the instructor's challenges and strategies through semi-structured interviews with seven participants…

This study responds to calls for more research on motivations for learning languages other than English (LOTEs) in the new era dominated by global English. In particular, it focuses on the role of societal contextual factors surrounding the status of English and the status of the LOTE as an L2/L3, as factors which may offer a more nuanced…

This article draws on a qualitative study of insights and reflections from the COVID-19 pandemic completed for a master's thesis. It centred on the experiences of seven English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) practitioners in Ireland, considering the practical ways they responded to the public health measures, but also how they felt, how…

In the past decades, society in general has become strongly diverse. This change also affects schools. As a result, learning groups cannot be seen as homogeneous and taught in this way. One of the challenges is students' linguistic skills. Dealing with different linguistic competencies should not only be a focus of formal education in schools but…

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Ireland have been called to widen participation in language learning by the government's "Languages Connect Strategy." The challenge is to increase the level of participation from 4% to 20%. Moreover, a recent nationwide study has revealed a grassroots demand for language provision…

The role of AI chatbots is undergoing a transformation, where it was firstly used for English native language learning; later, it shifted to the use for learning English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language learning. Lastly, it is used to learn foreign languages. Hence, due to the changes in AI chatbots' role, there is a…

Sign language learners are a heterogenous group who have different motivations for embarking on formal studies. It is apparent at the outset that many learners are uninformed about sign languages and the deaf community. It has been previously noted that societies often lack the understanding that signed languages are valid languages, and have…

This descriptive study presents the first research cycle with four synchronous telecollaborative language learning sessions on Zoom between Irish and Chinese teenagers. Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) post-questionnaire results show that the mean of interaction enjoyment scale is the highest compared to the other four categories, which…

The purpose of this paper is to gain insights into the strategies employed by beginning learners of Spanish, German, Chinese and Japanese as Foreign Languages at university level in order to comprehend texts in their target languages. It also investigates possible relationships between strategic behaviour and success in reading comprehension…

This article examines how power and solidarity in family relations are negotiated along linguistic lines, and in particular, the role of a third language in this negotiation process. It takes as its case study a transnational family in Ireland who practise a strongly pro-Polish FLP and where the parents are seen as authorities in Polish and their…

There have been many instances when parents have been advised by educational professionals against bilingualism or immersion education for their child with special educational needs (SEN). Some parents follow the advice given and decide to use only one language with their child, mainly the majority language of the community. This study…

This paper presents a research framework for investigating the role of language use in mathematics learning. The paper draws on the wider M[superscript 2]EID study, which explores whether differences in languages (English and Irish) and their use by bilingual mathematical students have a differential impact on their mathematics meta-level…

This study aims to explore the current published research on Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs), outlining the types of papers, countries where studies were performed and institutions devoted to this field. Also, it intends to classify the reviewed literature following a general categorisation of MOOCs, and to identify the main trends…