This article presents an analysis of a teaching concept we developed based on the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) (Council of Europe, 2018), that not only provides opportunities to practice communicative skills but puts a major focus on democratic competences. Mathematics students and TEFL (Teaching English as a…

This article reports on Higher Education student experiences of engaging with the concepts, values and activities in an adapted pilot version of the Council of Europe's Portfolio of Competences for Democratic Culture. Our aim was to explore how this portfolio could serve as a learning tool in an internationalized context for higher education…

Since its inception in 2004, Siena Italian Studies (SIS) has worked to offer students a challenging and engaging intercultural experience thanks to the implementation of the service-learning pedagogy and the practice of reflection combined with language acquisition. Over the years, SIS courses have been aligned with European policies and…

In this paper we present the analysis and interpretation of data collected during an intercultural virtual exchange undertaken in 2020 in which students from Argentina and the USA explored how trauma and suffering associated with COVID-19 can be channeled through collaborative artistic multimodal creations, and how approaching this in a productive…

Diagnostic assessment (DA) in language classrooms is reported to have a substantial role in providing immediate and quality feedback for remedial work that would improve learning (Alderson, Brunfaut & Harding; 2014; Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Huhta, 2008; Jang & Wagner, 2013). However, applying DA in class remains a challenge for many…

Intensive project work framed within a directed motivational current theory can transform an assessment into an engaging learning opportunity. Accordingly, a project built around the "The BIG Issue" framework variant was implemented in an English as a foreign language classroom to explore the purposeful generation of group-directed…

It is believed that there is a significant difference between the use of technology in technologically advanced and advancing countries, and the users in the former act far better with technology than the users in the latter. However, there is not enough report on how this usage differs in terms of the independent use of technology in a foreign…

Research into instructed pragmatics mainly comparing implicit and explicit instruction has gained salience in language teaching research in the last two decades. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of cognitive and interpersonal task-based instruction on EFL Learners' production of two speech acts of apology and request. To…

Inclusion as a vast-growing practice commits teachers, the central pillar of the inclusive education, to maximize learning outcomes for all learners. In spite of voluminous research on inclusion and the critical role of teachers in its successful implementation, there remains a paucity of research on EFL teachers' practices for students with…

Recent discussions in language communication indicate the effectiveness of technology and computer-mediated communication. Research also highlights the central role of synchronous and asynchronous modes of interaction in second and foreign language development. Gaining insights from Vygotskyan sociocultural theory of mind, the present study…

The current study sought to investigate Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' willingness to receive feedback and its relation to burnout. To this end, Teachers' Willingness to Receive Feedback Scale (TWRFS), along with Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were administered to 200 English language teachers working at different private…

Sociocultural perspectives of learning emphasise the role of social interaction and activity in the process of knowledge construction and foreground the social-cultural settings in which knowledge construction occurs. This paper examines how in-service language teachers co-construct technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in…

This case study investigates how teachers render digital professional development in digital environments by interviewing with three preparatory school English language teachers voluntarily engaged in online professional development. In order to examine their process of teacher learning in online settings, we drew on Self-Determination Theory…

Although studying teachers' online interactions has gained momentum in recent years, little is known about interactional development in online communities. The present study addressed this gap by exploring discursive change in second language teachers' interactions in an online professional development (PD) course structured around mobile phone…

Language teaching is noted to be a stressful profession at the best of times, but in 2020 it became even more difficult for all teachers because of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Teachers were required to switch suddenly to deliver their lessons on online platforms, with many having little or no prior training. This has certainly been…