Purpose: This paper aims to determine how quality assurance practitioners in Vietnam describe their levels of professional knowledge and related skills, as well as identifying factors that interfere with the development of these skills. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured were conducted with 22 quality assurance practitioners who were…

Gaining a driver's license can be difficult for student drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet little is known about their experiences of learning to drive. In this qualitative study, focus groups and individual interviews were employed to ascertain the perceptions of three participant groups, including people with ASD, parents of people…

European medical schools are recruiting increasing numbers of international students. This study explores the impact of cultural backgrounds and language on the transition of international medical students to the clinical years of their training when they are predominantly based in hospitals and interacting with health professional staff and…

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires state parties to make deliberate laws, policies and administrative measures to safeguard the right to work of persons with disabilities. However, many countries, such as Ghana, run afoul of this requirement. Currently, there are intense campaigns in Ghana aimed at…

Background: There is very little awareness of the speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) of rough sleepers. The small amount of documentation that does exist involves a wider group of homeless adults (not just rough sleepers), and reports that communication needs are an area of concern. Aims: To investigate: (1) the reported prevalence of…

In Malta, Maltese and English are learnt in school from age five. During Science lessons, teachers and learners normally use Maltese to talk about key concepts yet the written medium of instruction is English. This has been the practice adopted in Science classrooms for many years. The influx of migrants in recent years has yielded a multilingual…

The purpose of this study is to find out secondary school students' opinions on distance education, after encountering the distance education process for the first time. Descriptive scanning model was used for this research and the sample chosen from the universe was used to determine the result. The study was carried out with 172 volunteers from…

Shared understanding is often achieved in communication interactions at the point in which the participants come to an agreement upon meaning. Without shared meaning, misunderstandings can lead to a breakdown in communication, and possibly failure on collaborative tasks. The purpose of the present study was to examine how students, preservice, and…

Evidence suggests that the use of educational technologies may promote positive learning environments and contribute to students' success. The following mixed methods study examined the impact of Top Hat in a blended learning environment on undergraduate students' sense of belongingness, engagement, and self-confidence in a Canadian post-secondary…

Although misunderstandings as such have been extensively studied, the ways in which problems of understanding are avoided--especially in cross-cultural communication--have so far received limited attention. This article examines over 24 h of private conversation data from seven established, intercultural couples who use lingua franca English as…

Difficulty with social communication is the most pervasive difficulty experienced by individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). Communication difficulties are often magnified in adolescence as social demands become more intricate. This puts adolescents with HF-ASD at increased risk of social isolation and depression, as…

Regardless of varied lingua-cultural ideologies enriching the theories of communicative competence (CC), the four CC dimensions (e.g., linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse, and communication strategies (CSs)) still become the main cores of English speaking (ES) classrooms. Of the four dimensions, CSs seem to be the most technical which deserve…

One of the consequences of the growing number of English-taught programmes offered by European universities is the top-down request that lecturers switch from their L1 to English, for teaching, while the administrative staff is required to communicate with international students. To help the academic staff cope with the change, some universities…

Background: Obesity is common in adults with intellectual disabilities, yet little is known about how weight management interventions are provided for this population. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were held with 14 healthcare practitioners involved in weight management interventions in an English county. A study topic guide was developed to…

Purpose: The UK is a popular educational hub for international students from different parts of the world. These students often face different transitional challenges, which have a significant impact on the success or failure of their studies. The purpose of this paper is to systematically investigate the issues and challenges confronting…