New York State boasts a rich linguistic and cultural heritage, with students speaking over 200 languages. Understanding the importance of multilingualism and multiliteracy, the New York State Legislature established the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB) in 2012, with the first set of graduates earning the NYSSB in the 2015-2016 academic…

This article offers a critical review of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology English Proficiency Test (MSRT), a high-stakes exam required for postgraduate graduation, scholarships, and certain employment positions in Iran. Despite its widespread use, the design and implementation of the MSRT raise concerns about its validity and…

This article explores how music and lyrics serve as modes of storytelling in the language classroom, integrating a multimodal approach and the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. In the 'Sing My Story' project, language students creatively write their own lyrics, which are subsequently performed by either student musicians or target…

Education levels are on the rise among Mexican immigrants, who now comprise the fourth largest group of college-educated immigrants in the United States, after those from India, China, and the Philippines. The number of Mexican immigrants with a bachelor's degree or higher grew from 269,000 in 2000 to 678,000 in 2017--an increase that is primarily…

This policy brief demonstrates the importance of reporting outcomes for four different groups of students: students currently classified as English learners (current ELs), students formerly classified as ELs (former ELs), students ever classified as ELs (ever ELs, which is the combined group of current and former ELs), and students never…

This paper is an overview of key integration challenges facing Chinese students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It responds to recent admissions diversification strategies launched by UK institutions as well as increasingly critical narratives surrounding Chinese students. The independently researched report argues that students from…

This chapter examines whether commonality can be found across different institutions' approaches to assessment in language teacher education, and whether elements of individuality in these unique settings can be incorporated into a common framework, which can then be used as a model to be adapted to suit each partner's needs and requirements.…

Various examinations are administered at universities across the US as a means of assessing bilingual/multilingual international teaching assistants' (ITAs') proficiency in spoken English before they are permitted to teach. While such exams are taken by students in a range of academic disciplines, recent research suggests that communicative…

More than a million international students studied at U.S. colleges and universities in 2016-2017 (Open Doors Report, 2017), bringing close to 39 billion dollars into the U.S. economy (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2017). Previous research reveals that international students often face significant obstacles in their adjustment with the U.S.…

The number of internationally mobile students pursuing higher education increases each year, with 8 million students expected to study abroad globally by 2025 (Farrugia, 2014). Many English-dominant universities require international applicants to provide standardized test scores as evidence of English proficiency. Accordingly, millions of…

With rising job vacancies and a workforce and society that are aging, the United States already has a reservoir of human capital that is not fully tapped: The millions of U.S.-born and immigrant college graduates who are in jobs requiring no more than a high school credential or who are unemployed. This human capital, if well leveraged, could…

Since 1997, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invested in higher education and its expansion as part of its commitment to building a knowledge-based society. Though the UAE has prioritised quality higher education, it still faces challenges in producing graduates who are capable of actively participating in building its knowledge base. The…

Research on first language, second language, and multilingual socialization has flourished over the past three decades in many formal and informal educational contexts around the world. One relatively recent site for such research, particularly for multilingual students learning English as an additional language, is post-secondary institutions…

The first module of the online Master of Arts (MA) in Translation at the Open University, Introduction to Translation Theory and Practice, includes a language development strand which encourages students to diagnose their own language development needs and introduces them to tools, resources, strategies, and learning communities that will enable…

In this article, we discuss three cross-cultural memoirs used in three different university courses that introduced students to the complex identities that form both inside and outside of language classrooms. In arguing for the value of using such memoirs as content in university courses, we provide a detailed thematic analysis of Peter Hessler's…