Our study aims to explore Palestinian EFL teachers' perception and practice of intercultural competence (IC) as well as the relationship the variables have with the teachers' international exposure and previous training in IC. A nation-wide survey was used to collect data from 360 Palestinian EFL teachers. Both descriptive and inferential…

The shift of focus from a cognitive to social view has drawn the attention of second language assessment researchers to delve into interactional competence as an intriguing topic in paired oral tests. To fill the gap on how interactional patterns compare across L1 and L2 interactions this study was specifically set to explore and compare 45 paired…

Translators are expected to have expertise and experience in the relevant field. For this reason, the study aimed to examine the professional competence, academic self-efficacy and intercultural communication competence perceptions of translator candidates on a relational basis. In this research, the relational screening model, one of the…

The current study used a drama technique to teach a speaking course to second-level English Department students. The primary goal of language learning is to be able to communicate effectively in the target language with excellent self-confidence. The research was conducted using an action research methodology within a qualitative research…

This manuscript reports on a study carried out at a public university in southeast Mexico aimed to determine whether changes in the instructional design of an online English course benefit students' oral communicative competence. The research followed a quantitative quasi-experimental design that involved two groups of students. One of them took a…

Films and series are usually consumed in leisure moments, but they can be included in the English as a foreign language classroom as they offer real-life language in context, which can help develop learners' communicative competence. This paper examines how audiovisual materials can promote English acquisition in secondary education and proposes a…

The potential of games to support language learning and acquisition -- be it in the digital wilds or in the foreign language classroom -- has often been discussed. In this article, I will look at digital games from an explicitly plurilingual perspective. I describe five existing games that demonstrate a plurilingual outlook (Romanica, MElang-E,…

Research on second language (L2) acquisition in the generative tradition (GenSLA) addresses the nature of interlanguage competence, examining the roles of Universal Grammar, the mother tongue and the input in shaping the acquisition, representation and use of second languages. This field is sometimes dismissed by applied linguists as irrelevant…

Along with the inclusion of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) into the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness standards, there has been recent interest in the field of Chinese foreign language teaching towards integrating ICC into the course curriculum. However, many Chinese teachers still display…

Recently, immersive virtual reality (VR) environments for language learning have garnered interest from researchers and practitioners alike, based on their realistic imitations of environments where target languages might be used for "authentic-like" interactions (with other learners, bots and avatars). However, the majority of research…

Communication is a critical government function that has important implications for public administration and effective governance. This research study explores how communication competencies are taught in public affairs programs in the United States. Based on a general web content analysis of graduate programs, and specific analyses of course…

Over the last two decades, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has become ubiquitous in ELT. In this article, I consider how differences in the way in which the framework is being interpreted by different powerful actors, including governments and for-profit organizations, affect its usability for ELT practitioners, a…

Due to their mostly normative and legitimatory nature, public policies at large and education policies in particular are liable to frame perceived problems in the social domain as seen through the policy-making elite's perspective and seek to advance solutions to them. On the surface, the staged process of policy design, implementation, and…

The study is devoted to the definition of educational effects of introducing the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) technology in master's programs. A pedagogical model of teaching the CLIL methodology is described; the development of the "CLIL for IT teachers" course is based on it. An experiment that involved 62 graduate…

Achieving higher levels of proficiency in a foreign language depends on more than an extensive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Evidence is mounting that true proficiency depends on cultural awareness about how and when language is used. This suggests that teachers in foreign language classrooms must incorporate explicit cultural lessons into…