Non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) are responsible for ensuring basic human rights for socially marginalised people. In situations of migration, people's opportunity to regularise their migratory status and to secure their fundamental rights to key public services is entirely dependent on communication with the local…

Respeaking is an effective way to make live and pre-recorded television, as well as live events, accessible to a wide audience. Respeakers use speech-recognition software to repeat or paraphrase what is heard through a microphone in a robotic voice while enunciating punctuation and adding colours or labels to identify the speakers. Until now, most…

This article describes how a complex and large Pre-Sessional (PS) programme at the University of Southampton (UoS) moved online at pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the scale of the challenge and the ideas that informed our approach. It gives an overview of the technical and learning design used to deliver the programme, and makes…

With the recent developing trend of redefining 'culture' across disciplines in intercultural and foreign language education (Corbett, 2003; Shaules, 2007; Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2010), it is widely agreed that culture requires a broader definition to improve the teaching and learning of it. Wilkinson (2012) suggests "a redefinition of…

The study presented here is interested in understanding the ways in which social interaction in technology-mediated institutional settings is constrained and afforded by what Pennycook defines as "critical moments" in the educational experience. Drawing on Social Learning Analytics and on the concepts of heteroglossia, contingency and…

With the present situation of economic globalization, simple inter-flows of information within and between countries have become standard to meet the development needs of college and university students, who now require and demand intercultural communication to improve their understanding of the globalized world. In recent years, online platforms…

This text presents the results of surveys and interviews of Former Students (FSs) who have taken part in a teacher education course that began in 2004 (still on-going) and that includes Virtual Exchange (VE). The study aimed to look at the impact of two teacher education courses, imparted collaboratively between geographically-distanced…

Internationally, the trend of student-centered learning in higher education has emphasized the importance of aligning student learning outcomes with corresponding assessment methods. This study is conducted at a university in Vietnam by investigating 32 sets of syllabi and test specifications varied from English Language programs to English as a…

This paper reports on a semester-long study that explored the experience of a group of local and international students from multiple disciplines, and their teachers, in a core Intercultural Communication undergraduate course of 550 students in which there is an orientation to learning, teaching and assessment that seeks to develop students'…

Language without Borders was initiated by the Brazilian Federal Government and has undergone a series of modifications until its discontinuation as a government-sponsored program, when it was taken up by the academic community as a free enterprise. Currently, it is linked to Andifes (National Association of Directors of Federal Institutions of…

English as an Additional Language (EAL) as a professional discipline is a significant component of public education, and a main educational response to the growing ethno-linguistic diversities in many English-speaking countries. In this article I will focus on the ways in which professional language teacher knowledge has changed over time, paying…

This chapter examines practical issues regarding Virtual Exchanges (VEs) for educational purposes in the university context and covers language use, cultural differences, time management, teacher collaboration, technology-related issues, assessment, and context specific factors. It charts the establishment of three academic collaborations between…

The paper deals with professional training of future foreign language teachers in the USA based on the experience of Lewis University. As evidenced by research findings, the scope of foreign language education in the USA is rather broad, since they attempt to promote both traditional and critical languages in the context of developing translingual…

This article discusses the process of negotiating the storyline for videos developed as part of an online Arabic language course. The project was guided by a social-justice-through-education agenda, explicitly aiming to redress the high unemployment rate of language graduates in the Gaza Strip. We illustrate how the international team designing…

The emergence and development of online M.A./M.Ed. in TESOL programs has created new possibilities for language teachers around the world to become part of a learning community that may not have been previously available to them. Online education means anywhere/anytime learning, continued employment and continued residence. Yet, online learning…