Volume 15, Issue 2

This study explores the evolving nature of students’ sense of belonging in Finnish higher education, particularly as learning environments shift between in-person, online, and hybrid modes. While much research has focused on belonging in Higher Education, the experiences of Language Centre students remain underexplored. The aim of this study is to understand how belonging is experienced by these students and how teachers can foster it within diverse learning contexts. Through qualitative interviews with 11 Language Centre students, the study finds that belonging is a multifaceted and dynamic process. Students experience belonging not only through direct participation in the course community but also through connections to broader language communities. Belonging often emerges from brief, purpose-driven interactions centred around shared learning goals. Teachers play a pivotal role in fostering belonging by offering cognitive, social, and emotional support, and by organising inclusive spaces that encourage meaningful interaction. The findings have important pedagogical implications. Educators are encouraged to adopt intentional strategies that promote collaboration, communication, and knowledge-sharing, particularly in hybrid and online settings. This study challenges the traditional view that belonging relies solely on deep emotional connections, emphasising that it can also arise from momentary interactions centred around shared purposes.

EPortfolios have long been associated with encouraging learners to develop learner autonomy by helping them document and reflect on their learning processes and developing suitable learning strategies. While there is plentiful research in this area, it is still unclear the specific ways in which learners feel that maintaining an ePortfolio can help develop their reflective practices, and implementation of learning strategies. To address this, we surveyed and interviewed learners on an International Foundation Programme regarding their year-long use of ePortfolio practices to ascertain which skills and abilities they felt they developed, and in what ways this was of use to them in their current and future learning journey. The results section synthesizes survey and interview data to represent the students’ voices and their feelings regarding the creation and maintenance of an ePortfolio, and the development of skills. The thematic analysis of the data suggests that students feel that the use of an ePortfolio is challenging but that it facilitates self-efficacy through the improvement of creative, organizational, reflective, revision and technological skills. The discussion and conclusion present ideas about how these practices can be developed in the future, and how other practitioners may decide to implement an ePortfolio in their own context.

Drawing on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study explored how writing a learner diary impacts students’ ability to learn autonomously in an intermediate Korean language class. Researchers conducted a qualitative analysis involving nine participants who used weekly learner diaries, questionnaires, and exit interviews. The findings revealed that through a learner diary, students carried out a series of self-regulated acts, such as setting a goal, searching for learning resources, assessing their performances, and expressing a sense of accomplishments, which boosted their overall confidence. While writing a weekly learner diary, students’ learning behaviors have undergone to satisfy the three key elements of SDT, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, resulting in students’ increased motivation to learn Korean. More importantly, the result was confirmed consistently regardless of individual students’ level of proficiency. Initially thought of as a difficult task, all participants began to enjoy writing a learner diary, and the writing a diary in the target language was more enjoyable and rewarding as they continued into the middle of the semester and thereafter. Positive feedback and encouragement from the teacher also played a crucial role in enhancing the students’ self-efficacy. The participants reported that the diary was accountable for improving their autonomous learning.

Information units (IUs) have been proposed as a way of grading students’ notes. However, little work has been done to validate and check the reliability of such an approach. This study explores how teacher-researchers (TRs) use information units (IUs) to rate content items in students’ listening notes using a rubric. Data were collected from six TRs who graded four students’ listening notes. Each TR identified and rated the IUs in the students’ notes using a 4-point rubric scoring system before commenting on the notes they had graded. The main aim of this study was to examine if each TR awarded similar IU ratings between the items they graded. The results showed there were inconsistencies between the TRs ratings of the students’ notes. However, each TR consistently interpreted the IUs in the same way internally across multiple texts. These findings indicate that further training in using IUs is needed to add validity and reliability to the potential rating system for grading students’ listening notes.

English Medium Instruction (EMI) is widely used as a method of simultaneously delivering discipline-specific content and instruction in English as a Foreign Language. Meanwhile, among factors related to learner affect, learner motivation is known to be a key predictor of success in the classroom. A systematised review was conducted to gain an understanding of the relationship between EMI and motivation. Three major educational databases were searched, and five recent studies of relevance were found. Three research questions, on themes including the degree of motivation and motivational categories, will be discussed in a narrative review. Although a relationship was found between EMI and motivation, this did not mean that learners motivated to study content in a second language would succeed in doing so, despite their beliefs that they would. Furthermore, differing methods of classifying motivation caused difficulties with synthesising studies. As a result of the review and discussion, it is recommended that institutions conduct and act on needs analyses and utilise tools that allow EMI classes to succeed. Where a lack of language ability is significant, alternatives, such as Content and Language Integrated Learning or supplementary programmes in English for Specific Purposes could be more appropriate.

The growing presence of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools in academic writing has raised questions about their role in supporting students’ development as writers. While existing research has explored the capabilities and limitations of GAI, there is a notable gap in understanding students’ perspectives on its use. This study investigates whether students want to engage with GAI in their academic writing, their reasons for doing so, and how they perceive its benefits and challenges. Additionally, it touches on the role of educator transparency in using AI tools, exploring whether openly sharing such practices fosters trust and enhances the learning experience. The study highlights the importance of educators modelling ethical AI use to build a collaborative and trusting classroom environment. It also shows the shift in student strategies towards leveraging GAI tools as learning aids rather than convenience tools.

This paper presents a research project, funded by Durham University, investigating the potential of Generative AI (GenAI) for Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) learning, teaching and assessment within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLaC) at Durham University. The study explores how Generative AI can support writing skills and feedback in the MFL context. Through comparative analysis of tasks completed with and without ChatGPT, and feedback by both teachers and ChatGPT, the study investigates the pedagogical implications of emerging technologies in language teaching, with a focus on writing. The project involves 8 language areas, namely: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, and recruited two participants for each language with a CEFR-level of B1-B2. Participants completed diagnostic surveys, written tasks with reflections, sought feedback from ChatGPT and their teachers and reflected on them, and engaged in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The project highlights the potential of GenAI for supporting students’ learning and concerns about its implications for academic integrity and the development of linguistic skills, especially for beginner learners. It also emphasizes the need for clear institutional guidelines on the ways in which students can and cannot use GenAI to complete their academic work.

This activity report explores the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in language pedagogy, focusing on its potential to equip students with both linguistic proficiency and the competencies needed to address complex global challenges. Rooted in the context of TU (Technical University) Dublin’s commitment to embedding sustainability in Higher Education curricula, the activity report builds on insights from a 2023 roundtable discussion convened by two of the authors in collaboration with CercleS and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on the occasion of its first Research conference. Featuring perspectives from scholars in sustainability and language education, the event explored innovative pedagogical approaches, challenges, and opportunities in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in second/foreign language pedagogy. Drawing on examples from various language programs, the report discusses innovative pedagogical approaches and highlights specific models that integrate sustainability literacy into the teaching of languages. It also addresses challenges in embedding sustainability content into language curricula, including institutional resistance, teacher readiness, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration. The activity report concludes by advocating for language educators to actively incorporate sustainability topics into their teaching, leveraging familiar themes and drawing on global networks to enhance learning outcomes and contribute to sustainable development.

The University of Luxembourg, renowned for its multilingual profile, promotes the use of English, French, German and Luxembourgish in its multilingualism policy. English is an important lingua franca in many academic disciplines worldwide, and French, German and Luxembourgish are the administrative languages of Luxembourg. However, data from the ongoing research project “Representations of Linguistic Diversity in Multilingual Universities (RELIDIMU)” reveals a dominance of English and French over German and Luxembourgish in most classroom settings at the University of Luxembourg. This imbalance prompted the design of a trial workshop aimed at familiarising teaching staff with concepts of receptive multilingualism to help them navigate the complexities of teaching and learning in multilingual classrooms and promote cultural and linguistic diversity in alignment with the university’s values. The workshop was given by the university’s Language Centre during the inaugural Teaching Day on the theme “ACT – Advancing Competence in Teaching for Student Success” in February 2024. In this report, we highlight two activities that combine receptive multilingualism with plain language strategies – concepts that, according to data from the research project, are unfamiliar to many members of the teaching staff at the University of Luxembourg. Drawing on participants’ feedback gathered during the trial workshop, we conclude with insights into how we plan to redesign and expand the workshop.

The Global Engineers Languages and Skills (GELS) framework, developed as a language-neutral framework of engineering-specific communication skills, was adapted in 2023 for Japanese to address the language’s unique linguistic and cultural features. Adjustments included subdividing beginner levels, adding a guideline for learning the complex writing system, delaying the learning of specialized vocabulary to match the learner’s kanji proficiency, and aligning communication skills with Japanese norms, such as prioritizing harmony and indirectness in interactions. These changes ensure the Japanese GELS framework reflects Japanese learning contexts and supports learners’ progress effectively. This report advocates for language-specific frameworks for Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) that go beyond English-centric models, addressing diverse linguistic and cultural needs and thereby enhancing engineers’ intercultural competence, critical thinking, and diversity management. This report also underscores the need for ongoing updates to frameworks to reflect technological and pedagogical advancements and calls for international collaboration among teachers to promote multilingual awareness. By integrating the Japanese version, the GELS framework expands its scope, better preparing engineers for diverse global environments.

This report presents two attempts made to promote learner autonomy at a Sino-British university in China. The first is a flipped learning approach in a Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) A1 level module, where approximately 600 students were enrolled. It was introduced to run the module effectively without reducing the number of groups needed while facing a shortage of teachers. Flipped learning activities involved watching a short video created by teachers and completing a relevant quiz before attending class. The pre-task completion rate was 29 % but active and creative ways of engagement were observed amongst high performing students. The second attempt was an introduction of learner portfolio to a CEFR A2 level module involving 77 students. It was incorporated as part of the formative assessment, where students chose topics and methods based upon their interests. Throughout the process, students were encouraged to have “fun learning” and “focus on process” while receiving individual support. As a result, the satisfaction rate was as high as 96 % with many students reflecting their experiences as enjoyable, useful and practical. The students involved demonstrated unique ways of learning although individual differences in the efforts existed. Despite some research claim, it cannot be said categorically Chinese learners have low autonomy.