The Catholic Church is the oldest religious institution in the West and the biggest Christian denomination in Australia. Its success is partly due to its sustained efforts to supply missionaries across the globe. While the traditional missionary paradigm involved Europe-born religious workers being sent to colonies, this flow has been reversed in…

Several high-stakes English proficiency tests including but not limited to IELTS, PTE Academic, and TOEFL iBT recommend a 2-year time limit on validity for score usage. Although this timeframe provides a useful rule-of-thumb for the recency of testing, it can have far-reaching consequences. In response to stakeholder queries around IELTS validity…

Within school contexts that are socioeconomically marginalized, complex factors often lead to languages learning being devalued in ways which adversely impact students' potential, particularly their motivation to learn an additional language (L2). This paper examines the role of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in shaping students'…

This qualitative comparative case study investigates the links between parental motivations and young (aged 4-12) heritage language learners' heritage language school attendance. The study aimed to understand parental motivations, drawing on the instrumental and integrative motivation framework. The study addresses two research questions: 1) Why…

Digital games are increasingly used in education to boost engagement and reduce stress. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has improved the learning experience. However, further investigation is needed to determine the specific impact of commercially available, off-the-shelf (COTS) video games on English language skills. This study provides a…

Digital literacies are critical for adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds as they settle in a new country. However, institutions, leaders, and teachers often feel uncertain about how to teach digital literacies. Using the notions of digital literacy practices and assemblages, this article reports on a qualitative case study and explores how…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and challenges of Middle Eastern refugee mothers in using technology for language learning in regional Australian context. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a qualitative research design and used a narrative enquiry technique to understand…

This study explores ESL learners' perceptions of using high-variability phonetic training (HVPT) through YouGlish to improve pronunciation skills. Data were collected through an online questionnaire completed by 70 upper-intermediate level ESL learners and semistructured interviews with 20 learners. The collected data were analyzed statistically…

Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

For refugee migrants, proficiency in the language of their host country is a significant factor affecting their chance of integration and employment in their new society. For this reason, many Western nations provide host-country language training for such migrants. Australia thus offers English language training within its Vocational Education…

This paper reports on a multi-site case study of work-integrated learning (WIL) in language teacher education. Using learning trajectories as a lens for understanding the connection between the workplace and campus-based learning, this study explores what preservice teachers learn from real-world work experience. The data used for this study…

Implementing translanguaging in language education requires a rich understanding of learners' complex meaning-making practices. Enactments of translanguaging simply as an acknowledgement of learners' home languages and translation practices reflects a confusion between the concept of translanguaging and translation and a lack of understanding of…

This paper discusses the role of the Catholic Church amongst the Maltese diaspora in Australia, and its impact on the maintenance of the Maltese language, a small community language spoken largely by the first generation of immigrants who left Malta after the Second World War. The study is based on interview data collected among three generations…

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore adult immigrant learners' perspectives and motivations for participating in an ESL program through the lens of McClusky's Theory of Margin. Nine adult immigrant ESL students were interviewed about their learning experiences. Creswell's (1994) systematic process informed the…

Vocabulary learning is important to learners of a second language (L2). Nonetheless, organizing young children to practice L2 words in a classroom setting might cause many challenges to educators and practitioners. New technologies such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) may be utilized to solve the issue. In this study, we present a…