International Conference on Globalisation/Deglobalisation in Languages, Education, Culture and Communication is a series started form 2025. The second International Conference on Globalisation/Deglobalisation in Languages, Education, Culture and Communication (GLECC2026) is going to be held 28-30 July, 2026, Manchester, UK. The past two decades have witnessed remarkable advancements in the studies into Education, Second and Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Cultural Studies, and Communication. This growth, evident in both the number of active researchers and the volume of scholarly throughput and outcomes, can be largely attributed to the forces of globalisation. Consequently, adopting the globalisation perspective is timely and provides a natural framework for connecting these diverse yet interlinked disciplines. GLECC2026 aims to bring together researchers, educators, practitioners, and policymakers from the realms of education, foreign and second languages, cultural studies, translation, interpreting, and communication to disseminate research outcomes, share insights, discuss findings, exchange visions, and identify challenges and trends in an interactive and immersive multidisciplinary environment. This conference, notwithstanding the dissemination of works within individual and traditional discipline specified scopes, endeavours to break the subject silos. Papers and other contributions in Education, Second and Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Cultural Studies, or Communication, as well as contributions crossing the borders of traditional disciplines or emerged from frontier research, are welcome. The conference is organised by AT Publishing in association with its four journals namely, Research in Education Curriculum and Pedagogy: Global Perspectives (RECAP) [ISSN: 2977-1633]; New Perspectives on Languages (NPL) [ISSN: 3033-490X]; The International Journal of Chinese and English Translation & Interpreting (IJCETI) [ISSN: 2753-6149] and Recent Advances in Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) [ISSN: 2978-1345]. There is a “conference first” policy in place. Selected papers will be invited to further develop into full journal articles free of APCs. Conference proceedings will be published open access with an ISBN.
The Impact of Gamification on Kurdish EFL Learners in Terms of Motivation, Engagement, and Listening Comprehension Skills
Listening is one of the most difficult and frequently overlooked skills in EFL classes, especially in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI). The innovative assessment practice in such regions remained underutilised. This study examined the impact of gamified formative assessment on Kurdish EFL students’ listening comprehension, motivation, and classroom engagement. Furthermore, it aimed to evaluate students' and teachers’ perceptions of the educational value of gamified assessment and its application in language learning. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, using a quasi-experimental test with interviews. Moreover, Kahoot was used as a gamification assessment tool in the experimental group, while the control group utilised traditional method protocols. The quantitative findings demonstrated that although the post-test comparison between the two groups was not statistically significant, the experimental group achieved higher listening comprehension scores than the control group. These qualitative results indicated that students perceived gamified assessments with confidence, a great sense of autonomy, peer collaboration, and enjoyment. Teachers’ responses also corresponded to these advantages, emphasising observable improvements in students’ engagement, reductions in anxiety, and the pedagogical benefits of real-time feedback. This research provides insights for teachers and policymakers about the potential and limitations of gamified assessment and its application in language learning settings.
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Emerging Artiﬁcial Intelligence Applications in Legal Language and Profession: The Imperative and Caveats of the Technology and the Role of Legal Education
Legal education is conventionally aligned to the veracities of the legal profession but limited in providing allied skills in interdisciplinary ﬁelds involving language and technology. The proposed paper aims to identify the impact of Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI) technology in fulﬁlling the needs of legal language and practice and assess whether law school curriculum and pedagogies are suﬃciently responsive to the emerging opportunities. After reviewing prominent AI applications in law, the paper traces its identiﬁed pitfalls to determine the pathways to balance between the perceived risks and beneﬁts. The paper examines the contemporary pedagogic underpinnings of AI in legal education curricula to critique the conventional dogma among law schools and calls for the need to cultivate interdisciplinary traits involving law, language and AI. The paper makes a comparative review of the response of the legal education programs in selective jurisdictions and assesses the co-relation and resulting implications of the policies of the local law societies and bar associations. The paper ﬁnally argues the nexus between the emerging directives from the judicial and arbitral institutions regarding AI usage in their respective forums and the responsiveness (or the lack of it) among legal educators. The paper calls for a more cohesive aﬃrmative action encompassing diverse stakeholders in individual jurisdictions to adapt and harness AI technology, language and legal education.
Political Prisoners and the Translation of Violence: A Reflexive Case Study of Alaa Abdel Fattah’s You Have Not Yet Been Defeated
This paper examines the English translation of You Have Not Yet Been Defeated (2022) by Alaa Abdel Fattah as a site where political violence, censorship, and collective resistance converge. Compiled and translated by a network of family members, activists, and editors working under conditions of surveillance and risk, the English edition mediates texts written in prison, during probation, or reconstructed from memory after interrogations. The translation does not emerge from a single authorial or professional voice but from a collective process shaped by coercion, fragmentation, and political constraint. By reading the English edition alongside the Arabic collection Shabāḥ al-Rabīʿ (The Ghost of the Spring), the paper explores how editorial and translational decisions both preserve and reshape the political force of Abdel Fattah’s testimony. Rather than smoothing rupture, silence, or textual instability, the English translation retains these features, allowing the conditions of repression to remain visible within the translated text itself. Drawing on key concepts from translation studies and cultural theory, including opacity, translator visibility, and narrative control, the paper argues that translation here operates within a sustained tension between reproducing the constraints imposed by state violence and resisting them through fragmentation, collective authorship, and refusal of transparency. This tension has gained renewed urgency following Abdel Fattah’s release in 2025 under international pressure. After his release, he was initially prohibited from leaving Egypt through the imposition of travel restrictions, before later being permitted to travel to the United Kingdom. This sequence highlights how mechanisms of control over movement can persist beyond formal release and how political regulation extends across temporal and spatial boundaries. While Abdel Fattah’s physical mobility has been constrained, his translated writings have continued to circulate transnationally. Through this case study, the paper demonstrates that translating political prisoner testimony is not merely linguistic labor but a critical site where repression, narrative control, and resistance are negotiated across languages and borders.
Enhancing Chinese Language Learning through Cultural Engagement: A Case Study of Chinese Teaching and Cultural Activities in London
As Chinese language education continues to expand internationally, educators are increasingly exploring ways to integrate language instruction with cultural learning. This study examines how Chinese cultural activities can support Chinese language learning among secondary school students in the United Kingdom. The research is based on the author’s eight-month experience as a volunteer Chinese language teacher working with HSK 1 learners aged 14–16 in a London secondary school, alongside the organization of Chinese cultural events at Queen Mary University of London. The study adopts a qualitative case-study approach and draws on classroom observations, teaching reflections, and feedback from participants in various cultural activities, including Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, rubbing art, Chinese knot making, lacquer fan painting, and Baduanjin (Eight-Section Brocade) exercises. These activities were designed to provide students with opportunities to engage with Chinese culture beyond the language classroom and to develop a deeper understanding of Chinese traditions and values. The findings suggest that cultural activities can enhance students’ motivation to learn Chinese, increase classroom participation, and create meaningful contexts for language use. Students demonstrated greater interest in Chinese characters, vocabulary, and cultural expressions when language learning was connected to hands-on cultural experiences. The study also highlights several challenges, including differences in cultural background, limited instructional time, and varying levels of student engagement. This paper argues that integrating cultural activities with language instruction contributes to a more holistic approach to international Chinese language education. The findings provide practical insights for teachers and volunteers working in multicultural educational settings and offer recommendations for strengthening the connection between language learning and cultural engagement in overseas Chinese education programs.
Session 2 Languages & Intercultural Communication
Naming Public Space: Language Policy, Globalisation, and Linguistic Visibility in Macedonian Cities
Name signs are not neutral labels in public space: they can materially organize language hierarchy through script, ordering, placement, and visual prominence. This paper examines how governmental and private-sector name signs in Bitola, Kumanovo, and Tetovo make legal regulation, local demographic power, and globalization visible in the linguistic landscape. Using a linguistic landscape and geosemiotic approach, the study analyses a photographic corpus of public signs, focusing on language choice, script, spatial ordering, and visual prominence. The findings show that Macedonian was the most frequent language overall and was generally placed first on governmental signs, reflecting its legally privileged position. This ordering was locally contested in Albanian-speaking majority areas, where Albanian appeared first on governmental signage. English functioned as the clearest marker of globalization: although it had no official legal status, it appeared on governmental name signs, exceeded co-official Albanian in private-sector frequency, and was more visually prominent than Macedonian on private-sector name signs. The paper contributes to linguistic landscape research by showing that name signs are not peripheral objects of analysis, but central sites where public language hierarchies are materially organized through the interaction of legal status, local demography, commercial naming, and English as a globalizing resource.
Reimagining Nabokov: The Russian Émigré in Germany and America
This paper investigates how Vladimir Nabokov’s experience as an exiled writer in Germany and in America serves as a model for the protagonists in his last Russian novel “Gift” (1938) and his English novel “Pnin” (1957), in which exile is the primary theme. Nabokov takes an unprecedented approach to exile: rather than lamenting the loss of his homeland, he represents exile as a natural state of being, a state of perpetual transition. His displaced characters grapple with severed roots, linguistic barriers, the fragile, reconstructive power of memory, and the lasting trauma of a lost home country. Even though the protagonists, Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev and Pnin, are both true exiles, they demonstrate remarkably different responses to their dislocations; however, these novels, when read in tandem, illustrate Nabokov’s depiction of exile, his transient status, and his transcendence of exile through creativity and art. The paper explores some of the psychological implications of the exile in Nabokov’s life and in the two novels, focusing on the roles of memory and imagination. Drawing on specific examples, the paper argues that his relocation to America is the illustration of successful immigration, the foundation of which is a desire to embrace American culture, showing respect to the country where he was initially a stranger.
Global English, Generative AI, and the Standardisation of Academic Communication: Between Accessibility and Deglobalisation
The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence into academic and professional communication is accelerating the standardisation of English-language discourse across educational and cultural contexts. While digital communication has historically supported linguistic accessibility and international collaboration, AI-assisted writing introduces new tensions between globalisation and deglobalisation in communication practices. This paper explores how AI-generated academic English contributes simultaneously to the expansion of global communicative norms and to the gradual erosion of linguistic, stylistic, and cultural diversity. Drawing on perspectives from communication studies, digital discourse analysis, and language globalisation, the paper employs a qualitative critical discourse analysis combined with an exploratory pedagogical research approach. The study is based on a corpus consisting of AI-assisted student assignments, academic writing exercises, professional communication tasks, and reflective responses collected from undergraduate students enrolled in English-language communication and writing courses. In addition, the research incorporates data from a small-scale exploratory questionnaire investigating students’ perceptions of generative AI in academic writing, with particular attention to perceived usefulness, linguistic confidence, authenticity, creativity, and dependence on AI-generated structures. The analysis focuses on recurrent rhetorical and linguistic patterns identified in AI-assisted student writing, including lexical predictability, formulaic argument structures, standardised academic tone, and the gradual reduction of culturally specific forms of expression. Particular attention is given to the emergence of “safe” communication strategies characterised by clarity, coherence, and grammatical correctness, but often lacking rhetorical individuality or stylistic nuance. The paper argues that although AI tools democratise access to academic English and reduce linguistic anxiety for non-native speakers, they may also reinforce dominant Anglo-American rhetorical conventions and reshape the criteria through which academic writing is evaluated. Consequently, educators increasingly shift their attention from grammatical accuracy toward questions of authenticity, originality, critical positioning, and communicative intention. The paper ultimately proposes a critical communication framework for understanding AI-assisted writing as a negotiation between efficiency, visibility, authenticity, and cultural specificity in contemporary higher education.
Chinese Dialectal Parameterisation in Cantonese Teaching
Using formal parameters and universal cartography, it is possible to account for linguistic variation in Chinese dialects, which display systematic microvariation within a common core grammar. This is particularly useful for the teaching of Chinese as a second language, as there is a growing interest in Chinese, not only in standard Mandarin but also in Cantonese which is immensely popular in the West and mainland China. As cartography seeks a universal word order from which language-specific parameter-settings are derived, the following schemata can account for Chinese dialects: C(omp) Subj(ect) T(ense) Adv(erb) V(erb)-Aff(ix) Obj(ect) S(entence) F(inal)P(article) Possessor Poss Dem(onstrative) Num(ber) Q(uantifier) Cl(assifier) Adj(ective) N(oun) In the clausal (1) and nominal (2) domains, the head-initiality of Chinese correlates with commonly spoken languages like English and Romance, which facilitates the acquisition of Chinese by many foreigners. Furthermore, these schemata permit a systematic account of the microvariation between Chinese dialects, since while Mandarin and Cantonese share forms for the same categories (e.g. C: 因爲because… 所以and so…, 雖然although… 但是/係but…, 如果if… 就then…; T: 會will/shall, 應該should, 要must, 想want; V-aff: completive aspectual 了/咗, anterior aspectual 過, stative aspectual 著/住; Poss: 的/嘅, Dem: 這/呢 (proximal), 那/嗰 (distal)), dialectal variation can be classified in three types: 1) dialectal forms exist in Cantonese but not in Mandarin e.g. progressive V-aff 緊 (3) 2) different word order, namely Cantonese postverbal adverbs and Mandarin preverbal ones (先’before’ (4), 多’more’ (5), 少’less’ (6)) 3) new constructions, like Cantonese classifiers heading noun phrases denoting articles, which indicates Cl-to-Poss movement (7): 外邊 响度 落-緊 雨 / 外面 正在 下 雨 outside AUX fall-PROG rain outside AUX fall rain ‘It is raining outside.’ (Cantonese/Mandarin) 我哋 行 先 / 我們 先 走 we go first we first go ‘Let’s go first.’ (Cantonese/Mandarin) 5a) 我哋 諗-住 再 住 多 三 日 we think-ASP again live more three day 5b) 我們 想-著 再 多 住 三 天 we think-ASP again more live three day ‘We are thinking of staying for three more days.’ (Cantonese(5a)/Mandarin(5b)) 6a) 我 俾 少 十 分 嗰 個 學生 I give less ten mark that CL student 6b) 我 少 給 那 個 學生 十 分 I less give that CL student ten mark ‘I gave ten marks less to that student.’ (Cantonese(6a)/Mandarin(6b)) 7a) 架 車 阻-住 個 出口 CL car block-ASP CL exit 7b) 這 輛 車 阻-著 出口 this CL car block-ASP exit ‘The car is blocking the exit.’ (Cantonese(7a)/Mandarin(7b)) Based on these examples, the dialectal parametric setting for Cantonese can be represented thus: 8) C Subj T Adv V-Aff(緊) Obj Adv (多/少/先) SFP 9) Possessor Poss (CL-D) Dem Num Q Cl Adj N
“No Sabo Kids” A Narrative Inquiry into Spanish as Access, Authenticity Policing, and Identity Formation Among Heritage Speakers
Spanish Heritage Speakers in the United States come from diverse national, regional, and familial language backgrounds. Their Spanish reflects different histories, migration patterns, home practices, accents, and cultural meanings. Yet, these differences are often collapsed under broad categories such as Latino, Hispanic, or simply Spanish- speakers. While these categories create a shared identity, it also flattens histories and language varieties that shape heritage speakers’ experiences. While educational settings often frame Spanish Heritage Speakers through the language of inclusion, culturally responsive pedagogy, and recognition of students’ linguistic repertoires, forms of linguicism continue to persist in practice which create a process of linguistic sorting in which heritage speakers learn early in their educational journeys which forms of Spanish are valued, legitimized, and which are rejected. In family and community contexts, however, these same speakers are often valued for their English because they often help relatives navigate institutional systems such as schools or health care systems. Yet, while their English is valued as a resource for institutional access, their Spanish is often judged, mocked, or dismissed for not meeting community expectations of accuracy, fluency, or legitimacy. This creates a contradiction: While English helps them provide access to institutions, Spanish functions as access to family stories, cultural memory, intergenerational relationship, community participation, and, most of all, belonging. As a result, they are placed between two expectations: English as institutional access and Spanish as cultural and community access. Using pláticas within a narrative inquiry design, this study draws on ethnolinguistic Identity and Social Identity Theory frameworks to examine how Spanish operates as both a pathway to belonging and a boundary through which belonging is measured, questioned, or denied. Pláticas created relational and conversational spaces where Spanish Heritage Speakers shared how community expectations about proficiency, fluency, and legitimacy affect their identity and confidence. These judgements operate as a form of authenticity policing, where Spanish proficiency becomes a measure of whether heritage speakers are recognized as legitimate members of the Latino community. The preliminary re-storying of these narratives revealed that participants wanted these conversations to happen within their own community. They desired community support, greater understanding of their linguistic experiences, and a reduction of labels such as “no sabo kids,” which position them as incomplete or not Latino enough. Although some Spanish Heritage Language scholarship has explored community-based and service-learning projects, much of this work remains centered on university students already enrolled in Spanish heritage courses. This reveals a limitation: conversations about language ideologies, linguistic shame, often reach only those who make it to college. I propose that these conversations should instead be introduced throughout student’s educational journeys, especially through K-12 family engagement and community spaces. These spaces usually bring schools, families, and communities together to share resources, strengthen relationships, and support the well- being of students and their communities, they can be revitalized to include meaningful conversations about language shift, linguistic shame, and Spanish as access. Involving the broader community can expand the advocacy needed to support Spanish Heritage Speakers within schools and beyond them.
From Reception to Localization: Chinese Ecolinguistics and Its Contribution to the Global Discipline
Ecolinguistics examines language use from an ecological perspective, exploring interactions with social, cultural, and natural environments. This article reviews the development of Chinese ecolinguistics and situates it in relation to Western scholarship. This article argues that its development is best understood as a process of localization. Chinese ecolinguistics has moved through three broad stages: early reception of Western ecolinguistic models, interdisciplinary adaptation and exploration, and recent localization through professionalization, Sino-Western dialogue, and theoretical extension. The Chinese case demonstrates that localization is not merely the application of an existing theory to a new context, but a methodological and theoretical process through which ecolinguistics is reshaped by local languages, cultural traditions, ecological realities, and social needs. Chinese ecolinguistics contributes to the global discipline to construct ecological stories that promote harmony between humans, society, and nature.
The American and Polish Intellectual Cooperation in Postwar Britain
The consequences of the Atlantic Charter of 1941 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom had enormous effects for shaping the postwar intellectual landscape of Allied nations. This is observed in the nascent political currents that immediately necessitated a collaborative approach of the Central-European emigration in the United States of America and the United Kingdom in respect to the postwar order. The result of the Polish emigration’s cooperation with the American Government after the war, provided the early contours for a Central-Eastern European intellectual movement, through helping to organise their mutual collaboration and contact. The National Committee for Free Europe (NCFE) played such a role. The impact of American institutions interested in the emerging postwar political and intellectual movements of representatives tied to the wartime Polish Government in Exile, having lost its de jure status among the Allies on 5 July 1945, precipitated fundamental strategic shifts in designing future economic, cultural, diplomatic, and security relations of Central-Eastern European émigré groups. The interaction of the Polish political milieu with international postwar institutions like the NCFE contributed to the most important currents of this postwar Polish émigré activity in the United Kingdom in three ways: the shaping of political representation of the émigré population, providing a diplomatic and cultural response for future cooperation of émigré societies, and finally, outlining possibilities for a ‘local’ cultural approach to Polish and Ukrainian neighbourly relations in the émigré context of the United Kingdom.
Mixed Reality and Collaborative Experimentation Environments: Higher Education Mentoring in Latin America
In recent years, the integration of immersive technologies in education has increased exponentially, leading to a proliferation of use cases, particularly within higher education. Nevertheless, recent bibliometric analyses and systematic reviews indicate that adoption remains largely concentrated in a limited set of countries, notably the United States, China, Canada, and across Europe. However, its implementation in Latin America continues to be constrained by several factors. These include limitations in infrastructure, technical expertise, and the availability of suitable software. In this broader context, and as part of the 'Scientific Mentoring in Latin America' project, the present study seeks to facilitate knowledge transfer through immersive technology, using the Edison eDesk mixed reality software. A series of 16 lectures on empirical research and scientific writing was delivered across six countries, involving eight universities from Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. The mentoring programme was implemented in the following manner: two live lectures were conceptualised and subsequently delivered via the Teams platform. The initial session focused on the design and conceptualisation of social science research, encompassing the formulation of research problems, the development of the conceptual framework, and the overall structure of a research project. The second session concentrated on methodological design, the analysis of collected data, empirical strategies, the use of technological tools, and guidelines for preparing scientific articles and achieving their publication in high-impact journals. The project was systematically organised into six sequential phases: the coordination and selection of participating universities; the design of training materials and their adaptation to the Edison environment; the implementation of mentoring activities in virtual settings; the collection, cleaning, and processing of data; the conduct of empirical analysis; and the dissemination of scientific outputs.
"We Live in a Society That Does Not Know Our Existence": The Language, Culture and Ethnolinguistic Identity of Mathura Labhan
In the era of globalization, many ethnic minority and indigenous communities face a paradox as they become more visible in public discourse, but their internal diversity often becomes invisible. The Mathura Labhan exemplifies a similar scenario, as it is a subcaste within the Banjara tribe, one of India's largest tribal groups. Their language, culture, and ethnic identity remained undocumented and socially invisible. Historically, the Mathura Labhans were nomadic cattle herders, but they are now settled in the northern districts of the Indian state of Telangana. The exact population figure of Mathura Labhan is not known, but community leaders say it is between 80,000 to 100,000 in the state. Being a minority language surrounded by dominant and powerful Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Marathi languages, its undocumented stage and endangered status are posing severe challenges to its survival in the globalized era. The older literature portrayed Banjara as homogeneous by masking its heterogeneity and the subgroup’s hierarchical relations in the community. Due to the geographical isolation, low population, limited access to education, a lack of political representation, and socio-economic backwardness, the Mathura Labhan community is facing severe threats to carrying forward its socio-cultural and ethnolinguistic identity. The present study aims to investigate the language, culture, and ethnolinguistic identity of the Mathura Labhan within the larger Banjara framework. For this study, the author collected data through several field visits, participant observation and conducted unstructured, informal interviews with community members, and used responses from the language attitude survey. To structure the study, the authors used social identity theory and ethnolinguistic identity theory to provide a comprehensive analysis. The study reveals an intriguing observation that, despite ancestral ties and subgrouping within the Banjara tribe, Mathura Labhans believe they have a separate ethnolinguistic identity, as their speech and sociocultural life differ from those of other subgroups in the tribe. Mathura Labhans compare their social position with other subgroups within Banjara and categorise them as outgroups, considering them lower in the hierarchy. Despite a low population figure, no institutional support, and historical backwardness, Mathura Labhans maintain positive distinctiveness in their sociocultural lives. In addition, the younger generation in the community is slowly moving towards the dominant languages, as they offer employment, higher education, and migration opportunities. The study presents a broader overview of globalisation and deglobalisation by showing how internal diversity within larger ethnolinguistic communities can remain invisible despite increased societal recognition of indigenous peoples. It further highlights the importance of documenting marginalised subgroups that dominant tribal categories conceal. By underscoring the Mathura Labhan experience, the study points out the urgent need for linguistic documentation, cultural preservation, and policy interventions to safeguard endangered minority languages and identities.
The Diasporic New Speaker: A Deterritorialization
This paper explores how speakers of Irish within the Irish diaspora complicate and expand notions of identity and belonging within global diasporas, and how they may fit within a deterritorialized conception of the ‘new speaker’. New speaker theory reshaped sociolinguistic understandings of language revitalization in the last decade by decentering nativeness and foregrounding questions of legitimacy, authority and authenticity. However, the framework was largely developed within territorially bounded minority language contexts in Europe, implicitly linking speakerhood to place. This territorial bias obscures the experiences of second and later-generation diaspora Irish speakers, who also experience struggles over legitimacy and authenticity, though these struggles are structured through different spatial, institutional, and ideological systems. This paper proposes a rescaling of the new speaker category by introducing the sub-category of the diasporic new speaker. These are individuals who acquire and use minority or heritage languages outside the historical homeland and for whom language becomes a key site through which belonging to an imagined homeland is claimed, negotiated and contested across borders. Through a critical review of existing scholarship on new speakers, heritage language learning, and diaspora studies, this paper demonstrates how the territorial assumptions embedded in existing literature on new speakers limit our understanding of how linguistic identities and senses of belonging are constructed. It is further argued that the experiences of those outside of traditional territorial boundaries deserves greater academic attention, thus the proposal of this revised analytical lens. By foregrounding diaspora contexts, this paper proposes a shift from a model that is implicitly territorially grounded to a transnational, identity- and mobility-oriented framework. In doing so, it contributes to interdisciplinary debates on how migration shapes cultural and linguistic identities as well as the role of the diaspora in issues such as language revival.
Leadership Role in Addressing Practical Challenges in Rural Primary Schools in China
In the context of globalisation, this article critically examines the role and limitations of rural primary school principals in responding to practical challenges and promoting educational equity. As educational digitalisation and equitable access to quality education become global concerns, urban-rural educational inequality in China provides an important context for examining rural school leadership. Based on a systematic review of recent Chinese- and English-language research on urban-rural educational inequality, teacher retention, educational digitalisation, infrastructure, and resource allocation, the article analyses the main challenges faced by rural primary schools and their implications for school leadership practices. It argues that rural principals can support school improvement through distributed leadership, community participation, and local resource mobilisation, thereby partly addressing limited teacher support, digital resource inequality, and policy implementation pressures. However, leadership effectiveness remains constrained by institutional conditions, local governance capacity, and unequal resource allocation. Rural principals act primarily as coordinators and mediators between policy requirements and school realities rather than "heroic" changemakers. The article concludes that achieving equity in rural education in China requires not only principals' efforts but also more stable institutional support, fairer resource allocation, and long-term policy commitment to rural schools.
Negotiating Teacher Professional Identity Across Contexts During Doctoral Study Abroad: Narrative Accounts of Saudi EFL Educators
This study explores how Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators negotiate and reconstruct their teacher professional identities during doctoral study abroad in the United Kingdom. While previous research has often examined teacher identity after completing international study, less attention has been paid to how identity transformation unfolds during the doctoral journey itself, particularly as educators repeatedly move between academic, cultural, and professional contexts. Drawing on narrative inquiry, this study examines the lived experiences of seven Saudi EFL educators pursuing PhDs in the UK while maintaining professional and institutional ties with Saudi Arabia. The study is theoretically informed by Teacher Agency Theory, Dialogical Self Theory, and Transformative Learning Theory. Together, these frameworks are used to examine how participants negotiate competing expectations, internal dialogues, institutional constraints, and evolving professional aspirations across different stages of their journeys. Data were generated through in-depth narrative interviews conducted before and after participants’ research data collection periods in Saudi Arabia. The narratives were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns of identity negotiation, epistemic repositioning, and emerging agency. Findings indicate that participants experienced significant shifts in their understandings of teaching, knowledge, authority, and professional selfhood. Exposure to dialogic and research-oriented academic environments abroad often disrupted previously inherited assumptions shaped by transmission-oriented educational experiences. However, participants’ attempts to enact newly developed pedagogical orientations were frequently constrained by institutional expectations, assessment structures, and cultural norms upon returning to Saudi educational contexts. These tensions generated complex processes of negotiation through which participants re-evaluated their professional identities and developed more agentic and reflective positions toward teaching and research. The study contributes to current discussions on teacher identity, international doctoral mobility, and professional development by foregrounding the dynamic and ongoing nature of identity transformation during study abroad rather than treating transformation as a completed outcome.
Transforming Language Access in Multilingual Ireland: Blended Learning as a Sustainable Model for Lesser-taught Languages
Ireland’s growing linguistic diversity is creating both opportunities and challenges for language education. While multilingualism is increasingly recognised as an important educational, cultural, and economic resource, access to lesser-taught languages can still be limited, particularly for students who do not have access to local language provision. In response, government strategies such as Languages Connect have created opportunities to implement more inclusive and flexible approaches to language learning within post-primary education. This presentation explores the development of a blended learning model for Leaving Certificate Polish delivered through a collaboration between Post-Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI), Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB) and H2Learning. The case study offers insights for policymakers, educational leaders, and language educators seeking sustainable ways to support linguistic diversity and equitable access to language learning across geographically dispersed communities. The model was developed in response to practical challenges often faced by lesser-taught languages, including geographical isolation, limited student numbers within individual schools, and difficulties in accessing qualified teachers. Combining online lessons, independent learning, and local in-school support, the programme aims to create more sustainable and accessible pathways for students studying Polish at Leaving Certificate level. Using Polish as a case study, the presentation reflects on how blended learning can help ensure that access to lesser-taught language learning is not determined by geographical location or by the number of students interested in a particular language within an individual school.Particular attention is given to the relationship between national language policy and classroom practice, and to the ways technology-supported learning can help bridge some of the gaps between rural and urban language provision. Drawing on five years of programme delivery, the presentation considers both the opportunities and the ongoing challenges involved in developing new models of access for lesser-taught languages within mainstream education. More broadly, it invites discussion on how education systems can respond to changing linguistic realities and ensure that language learning opportunities are not determined by geography. In this context, blended learning is explored not simply as a technological solution, but as part of a wider move towards more flexible, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to language education.
Designing a Serious Game for Chinese Idiom Acquisition: An LM-GM-Based Approach
This research investigates the potential of a serious tabletop game to enhance the acquisition of Chinese idioms (chengyu) among adult learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL). Chengyu present particular challenges for second-language learners. To address this, a serious game was designed based on Learning Mechanic Game Mechanic framework. A small-scale evaluation was conducted with pre-, post-, and delayed-tests of idiom comprehension, Likert-scale surveys based on Keller’s ARCS model of Motivational Design, and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that the game improved learners’ comprehension of most idioms, with participants demonstrating stronger retention and deeper engagement compared to pre-test. Participants reported high levels of attention, confidence, and satisfaction, underscoring the motivational advantages of the game-based approach. Gameplay fostered memorable, embodied experiences likely to support long-term retention. This study highlights the promise of serious games in idiom pedagogy. It provides both empirical evidence and design recommendations for integrating serious tabletop games into CFL instruction, contributing to the broader field of game-based language learning.
AI-Supported Speaking Practice in Higher Education: Student Experiences and Perceptions of AI Generated Feedback for Spoken English Development
The increased use of artificial intelligence in language learning has opened new possibilities for speaking practice, role play, and feedback. This study examines students' perceptions of an AI assisted speaking tool, in terms of its value as a role play partner and the usefulness of its AI generated feedback. Focusing on AI generated small-talk role-play tasks, this study reports on a small-scale mixed-methods study of university students’ experiences of using Yoodli, an AI-supported speaking tool. The participants were 17 Fashion Design students enrolled in a course designed to prepare them for the social English and workplace communication needed for internships in the fashion industry. The study investigates students’ perceptions of using Yoodli and its value for developing spoken English in an English-for-specific-purposes context. In particular, it examines whether students found the AI-generated feedback meaningful, actionable, and relevant to their communication needs. It also explores the students' feelings regarding the role play's authenticity, its potential to provide much needed conversation practice and its ability to develop the students speaking confidence. Data were collected through post-use questionnaires and focus groups. Questionnaire responses and focus-group data were examined thematically to identify patterns in students’ evaluations of their experience of using the tool and the feedback it generated. By examining student responses to AI-generated speaking feedback in higher education, the study aims to contribute to current discussions regarding the use of AI in language education. It also suggests practical implications for integrating AI-supported speaking tools such as Yoodli into classroom practice, or for advising students on the independent use of such tools.
Knowledge Production and Travelling Memory in Retranslation: A Case Study of British Sinologist Samuel Beal’s English Translations of Foguo Ji
Against the backdrop of cross-cultural communication and overseas dissemination of Chinese Buddhist classics, the 19th-century British Sinologist Samuel Beal (1825–1889) completed two successive English translations of Foguo Ji. His retranslation practice goes beyond routine textual revision; it embodies continuous knowledge accumulation, historical interpretation and memory reconstruction shaped by over a decade of engagement with Sinology and Buddhist studies. Centering on Faxian’s pilgrimage to the Western Regions, Beal’s retranslation reconstructs the historical and geographical context of medieval Buddhist civilization, and reinterprets the philosophical connotations of diverse Buddhist schools for Western academic circles. Compared with the earlier one, his retranslated version makes remarkable progress in textual form, stylistic presentation and cultural interpretation. Adopting an introductory monograph style, the retranslated version paves the way for Western reception of Chinese Western Regions travel narratives. It replaces indiscriminate transliteration with standardized Sanskrit and Pali expressions to enhance cross-cultural academic legitimacy. By sorting out Buddhist terminological systems and constructing a holistic cognitive framework of Eastern Buddhist culture, Beal’s retranslation realizes the cross-border circulation of cultural knowledge and the reshaping of collective cultural memory, offering a valuable paradigm for the global dissemination and cross-cultural reconstruction of traditional Chinese classics.
Mastering Russian Language Proficiency: Expanding Students’ Lexical Repertoire through Exposure to the Regional Context
Focusing on both-- theoretical foundations and practical classroom strategies, the presenter will explore innovative and effective approaches in the Russian language instruction facilitated through focus on the regional context. Expanding curriculum beyond Russia’s borders by utilizing resources that highlight Russian as a global language helps to bridge the gap between textbook theory and real-world application. The presenter will offer insights on teaching Russian gained from the American Councils Summer Russian Language Teacher Program in Almaty, Kazakhstan highlighting the country's unique multilingual landscape and regionally nuanced materials (i.e. localized media and cultural artifacts, glimpses into local life, community-based and “funds of knowledge” approach). The presentation will emphasize the pedagogical value of incorporating regional Russian materials since these resources can promote students' active learning, continued development of intercultural competence, and engagement with the broader Russian-speaking world. Drawing on this approach, the session demonstrates how exposure to real-world language-- both in form and content-- can deepen students' linguistic competence, cultural understanding, and learner motivation. By expanding the boundaries of what is traditionally taught, this presentation offers practical teaching tools and adaptable models to help students navigate complex communicative situations and prepare them for meaningful interactions in academic, professional, and everyday contexts. The presenter aims to engage the audience in a conversation about best practices and evolving trends in vocabulary instruction inviting participants to share their own methodological approaches, vision, and experiences.
Socio-cultural Adaptation of Foreign Students in Austria Academic Culture and Language Policy
My study focuses on the challenges faced by Iranian students in Vienna, employing a constructivist grounded theory strategy (Charmaz, 2006), with particular emphasis on Iranian students. The study examines essential questions about the types of challenges encountered the factors that influenced them, and the consequences for both students' lives and Austrian society. Furthermore, it explores the students’ employed strategies and provides some suggestions for overcoming these challenges. A data triangulation method is employed during both the data collection and analysis phases. I gathered data through focus groups, individual interviews, and expert interviews for analysis. I used both grounded theory and critical discourse analysis. Due to the centrality of the academic environment in this study, the influence of academic culture at both macro and micro levels has been demonstrated. At the macro level, substantial differences between the academic systems of Iran and Austria provide fundamental challenges for students. At the micro level, differences in the academic culture of universities - different majors and levels of study with language policy - an environment that is receptive to cultural diversity has been shown to influence students' different experiences and the formation of students' sociocultural identity and linguistic perspectives.
Pre-conditions of Universal Transformation in Education from a Sense-related Approach
The contribution introduces a new scientific approach building up a research work on sense. This presentation will outline the prerequisites for shifts in meaning and structure aiming at transformational development in education from a universal perspective. Until now, educational research has focused on social action within existing meanings as socially given meanings. The significant aspect of a) socially non-given meanings and b) its relevance for transformational processes has not received any fundamental consideration yet. The study examines empirical data on pedagogical interactions in classrooms within the context of the relationship between socially given and socially ungiven meanings. Socially ungiven meanings are non-established meanings emerging from new sense. Socially given meanings are established, obviously fixed meanings of everyday language in a cultivated system of social interactions. The analysis of the empirical data presented takes its starting point from a method(ology) called ‘Objective Hermeneutics’. By this means socially given meanings are reconstructed through a procedure known as sequential analysis which traces the linear sequence of words from which a social text emerges. The linear line of emergence sets up a condition of substantiating meaning. Its specific emergence reveals a particular given structure of sense arrangement or sense selection within a specific interaction-based language arrangement connecting sense-selected specific meaning to human (inter)action. It operates between conscious (given) meanings and yet unconscious (ungiven) meanings which enter consciousness within the process of reconstruction. The research issue encompasses the following question: How can reconstruction processes inherent in a qualitative research design yield a scientific understanding of (un)conscious and new progressive meanings derived from given meaning-structural dispositions? How can a method called ‚Objective Hermeneutics‘ prepare such sense-related understanding along basic ‚objective‘ structural meaning conditions in yet (un)given human interaction? Connecting to a certain meaning through language arrangements in human (inter)action expresses a selected form of communication which embodies a disconnection to other possible meanings at the same time in order to focus this meaning and not the other. This form of meaning selection or sense selection is analyzed on a deeper and more complex level in terms of transformation to demonstrate how changing (dis)connections to meanings generate fundamentals for conscious transformation in cultural communication processes within educational meaning contexts. The research work exemplifies how educational transformation may arise from a changing awareness in processes of sense selection cultivating new sense in new forms of communication. Gaining a higher empirically based scientific awareness of sense selection offers an insight into possible evolvement of human interaction through higher complexity in human-determined processes of sense selection as culturally-based concepts in educational interaction. Meaning is structured within the context of an analytical understanding of how transformation occurs (or does not occur) in meaning-making processes or sense development. These processes are embedded in the pedagogical communication practice of interaction between students and teachers. The analysis takes a higher sense-related complexity into account focusing different ways and rhythms of human-made negations that work themselves out in processes of sense selection. This sense-related approach touches the development of meaning that arises from new sense.
Embodying Classical Chinese Poetry: Cultural Translation from Kunqu to Contemporary Practice
This presentation explores how classical Chinese poetry may be approached not only as literary language, but also as an embodied cultural form shaped through voice, rhythm, gesture and perceptual attention. In Chinese aesthetic tradition, poetic expression has long operated beyond semantic meaning alone: tonal pattern, breath, temporal pacing and imagistic resonance all contribute to the way a poem is experienced and communicated. This interrelation between language and bodily articulation is particularly evident in Kunqu, where poetic text, vocal delivery and stylised movement remain closely integrated within a continuous performative tradition. Building on doctoral research and previous published work on poetic embodiment in Kunqu, this paper examines how such relationships between language and bodily form may continue within contemporary practice. Here, cultural translation refers not only to the transmission of poetic meaning across historical contexts, but also to the re-articulation of poetic language through voice, movement and embodied perception. Rather than treating poetry as content to be illustrated, the presentation considers spoken poetic language and bodily action as parallel expressive processes through which imagery, rhythm and atmosphere are explored in performance. Selected examples from recent creative work show how classical poetic imagery — such as seasonal transition, spatial distance and subtle environmental change — is developed through the simultaneous use of spoken poetic language, breath-based movement and shifting temporal pacing. Brief performative demonstration will accompany selected examples in order to illustrate how poetic language and movement interact in practice. Drawing on principles derived from Kunqu while moving beyond fixed theatrical conventions, this practice seeks to retain the relational qualities of poetic expression while opening them to contemporary contexts. The paper argues that contemporary embodied practice can offer a complementary mode of cultural translation in which inherited poetic sensibilities are not simply preserved, but actively re-experienced and reformulated. By tracing a path from Kunqu to contemporary performance, the presentation proposes that classical Chinese poetry continues to generate meaning through the dynamic interaction of language, body and cultural memory, offering new possibilities for artistic, educational and intercultural engagement.
Academic conferences connect students with ideas and individuals they might not otherwise encounter. However, they are not without limitations. Students cannot attend every concurrent session; furthermore, little time is spared for students to crystalize takeaways. To address this, and provide a more well-rounded learning opportunity for students, MiraCosta Community College’s Learning Centers(TLC) piloted a conference for students, conducted by Learning Center employees, to share information and improve takeaways: a Knowledge Exchange. The event consisted of 14 sessions in three concurrent blocks(4, 5, 5). Additionally, TLC facilitators used a three stage ‘directed networking’ strategy based on the studio model to promote student access to and retention of sessions. In part 1, students from the same session were grouped together and asked to share their name and intended major, and then to share around and discuss insight gained and knowledge reinforced. For part 2, attendees from each of the separate sessions were grouped together and given time to share what they learned. Finally, in phase 3, students were encouraged to discuss next sessions of interest. Feedback for this process and the Knowledge Exchange as a whole was largely positive, suggesting a place for similar conferences in the future.
Colonial Encounter, Gendered Mediation, and Cultural Adaptation: Translating Local Cuisine in Taiwan Travelogue
This paper explores translation as a form of cultural adaptation and gendered mediation in Lin King’s English rendition of Taiwan Travelogue, with particular attention to the representation of local Taiwanese cuisine. Set in 1938 during the Japanese colonial period, the novel adopts a pseudo-documentary structure in which Yáng Shuāng-zǐ constructs a fictional colonial travelogue through layered paratexts and fabricated archival elements, creating the illusion of historical authenticity. Within this framework, Aoyama Chizuko is presented as a Japanese woman traveler whose culinary journey through colonial Taiwan is mediated by her Taiwanese interpreter, Ō Chizuru. Chizuru’s role extends beyond linguistic transfer to cultural negotiation, as she guides Aoyama’s understanding of local food, customs, and everyday life. Through their interactions, the text reveals how colonial encounter, female mobility, and local identity intersect within acts of translation. Local dishes such as lóo-bah-pn̄g (Braised Pork Rice) function not only as culinary references but also as carriers of cultural memory, preserving traces of Taiwanese everyday life under colonial rule. The English translation further develops this layered narrative by re-mediating a text that is already shaped through multiple layers of fictional narration, pseudo-documentary construction, and translational framing.This study focuses on how translation negotiates the transmission of taste, sound, and historical atmosphere through the rendering of multilingual culinary expressions in colonial Taiwan. To preserve the colonial setting, the translator retains Japanese pronunciations for colonial-era terms and Japanese-influenced expressions, while tonal markings and phonetic specificity in Taiwanese Hokkien allow local voices to remain audible and culturally distinct within the English text. These strategies demonstrate that translation functions not merely as linguistic transfer but as an active form of cultural adaptation that preserves marginalized histories and foregrounds the gendered dynamics of colonial contact. By mediating between colonial memory and global readership, the English version creates a critical space in which Taiwanese cultural identity, female experience, and historical memory are reinterpreted and made accessible to contemporary international readers.
Teaching Chinese through Taiwanese Film: AI-Supported Learning of Film Dialogue, Vocabulary, and Discussions of Love and Mental Health in I WeirDO
Audiovisual materials could serve as a valuable resource in foreign language classes because they provide authentic input in a real context, allowing learners to develop linguistic authenticity while enjoying the content. This helps fill the gap beyond the reach of traditional textbooks. However, due to the large volume of dialogue, limited class time, and the preparation load, it is challenging for teachers to both teach the vocabulary used in the dialogue and the main themes presented in the film. This study uses the Taiwanese film I WeirDO as teaching material, exploring how generative AI can be used to optimize instructional design. Previous research has shown that advance organizers can facilitate comprehension and reduce cognitive load, while AI tools have the potential to summarize large volumes of dialogue. This study integrates these approaches by using AI-generated introductory texts as advance organizers to support learners’ understanding. In addition, AI can generate word lists including important vocabulary for students to review after viewing, thereby enhancing learners’ language authenticity. Regarding the thematic discussion, I WeirDO explores complex relationship dilemmas through two protagonists with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), resonating with contemporary society’s focus on mental health. This teaching design encourages students to think about core questions in a relationship: When two people grow at different paces, should you wait for your partner, try hard to catch up, or just let go? Also, when you have a mental health problem, is it better to find someone who shares the same struggle, or a 'so-called normal' one? By leveraging AI tools, students can overcome language barriers and engage in meaningful discussions of these complex issues. This study demonstrates how AI can support teachers in transforming popular culture into meaningful language learning experiences.
The Potential of Narrative Cinema in Language Ideological Clarification: Kneecap (Peppiatt, 2024), Humour and the Irish Language
The importance of popular culture in language revitalisation is becoming ever clearer, with the Irish language providing a particularly notable example following the recording-breaking public, critical and financial success of feature film An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl, Bairéad 2022). The semi-fictionalised music biopic Kneecap (Peppiatt, 2024), however, stands out within this growing canon of Irish-language cinema for its explicit engagement with the issue of language rights and revitalisation. Uniting sociolinguistics, humour theory and film studies, this paper will explore how Kneecap represents a new possibility for narrative cinema as a site of language ideological clarification (Kroskrity 2009), focusing on the linguistic encounters and resulting dialogues of the character of JJ (JJ Ó Dochartaigh). Exploring vernacular, institutionalised and politicised language use, this paper ultimately argues that the emotional responses and cognitive understandings facilitated by the humorous cinematic narrative allow for a more nuanced and successful staging of language ideological contestation and clarification.
Excavating the Landscape: An Archaeological Study of Samuel Beal’s English Translations of Chinese Buddhist Texts
Samuel Beal was the first British scholar in the 19th century to systematically translate Chinese Buddhist texts into English, holding a pioneering position in the history of the overseas dissemination of Chinese Buddhist literature. Adopting the translation archaeology framework of Anthony Pym and Lieven D’hulst, this study integrates library archival materials, work inventories, and socio-historical data to archaeologically examine Beal’s translation landscape across four dimensions: intellectual biography, work archives, spatiotemporal distribution, and patronage mechanisms. The research findings are as follows. First, establishing an intellectual biography reveals that Beal’s dual identity as a clergyman and a sinologist infused his translation practices with intertwined religious and academic characteristics. He focused on the comparison between Buddhism and Christianity, embodying the exploratory spirit of comparative religion. Furthermore, he was dedicated to bridging the gap in the translation and study of Chinese Buddhist texts in the English-speaking world, thereby establishing his academic status as a pioneer in related European research. Second, in terms of text selection, Beal altered the prevailing convention in Western academia, which heavily favored Sanskrit and Pali source texts. By translating and introducing Chinese classics such as the Diamond Sutra, Travels of Faxian, and Buddhist Records of the Western World, he greatly enriched the source texts within the translation field of that period, highlighting the independent academic value of Chinese Buddhist texts in Western Buddhist studies. Third, regarding spatiotemporal distribution, his translations were published between 1862 and 1899, forming a network of knowledge dissemination centered in London and radiating globally. Fourth, his translation practices relied on a multi-dimensional patronage network connecting the government, academic institutions, religious organizations, and publishers. Through this network, he acquired original source texts, financial support, language acquisition opportunities, and publication channels. This reveals that translation activities are deeply embedded within specific socio-historical environments, demonstrating the complexity of translation as a social practice. The study concludes that Beal’s translation achievements, serving as a medium for the flow of Buddhist knowledge connecting China, India, and Britain, significantly elevated the status of Chinese Buddhist texts in the international Buddhist community and laid a crucial foundation for modern Buddhist studies and Sino-Western cultural exchange.
Whose English Counts? Linguistic Power and the Politics of Assessment
Processes of globalisation have intensified linguistic diversity in higher education. However, assessment practices remain largely anchored in standardised and monolingual norms. This tension raises urgent questions of linguistic justice, social mobility and equity, particularly for students whose communicative repertoires fall outside dominant academic language expectations. This presentation examines how assessment practices in higher education operate as mechanisms of epistemic exclusion and encourages a rethink of decolonial alternatives that better account for the multilingual and superdiverse realities of contemporary student populations. Drawing on decolonial scholarship and the notion of superdiversity, we argue that assessment functions as a key site where linguistic globalisation is unevenly recognised and valued. Although students routinely navigate multiple languages, dialects, accents, registers, scripts, and digital vernaculars across transnational and diasporic context, these practices are often rendered illegitimate within institutional norms that privilege standardised English. As a result, linguistic difference is framed as deficit, limiting access to recognition, progression, and academic credibility. We propose that decolonising language in assessment involves two interconnected shifts: first: interrogating how student work in English is assessed, including the role of implicit bias and deficit discourses, and second: unpacking the ideological construction of academic language embedded in assessment task design and feedback practices that constrain creativity and student voices. Standardised assessment practices risk reinforcing linguistic injustice and limiting students’ social mobility within and beyond the university. The presentation calls for more socially just and inclusive approaches to assessment and evaluation, including the use of formative assessment, dialogic and developmental feedback, and criteria that recognise linguistic plurality and hybridity as legitimate academic resources. Such approaches challenge residual colonial logics and reposition language diversity as central to educational justice rather than peripheral to academic standards. By foregrounding assessment as an ethical and political site of language governance, this contribution speaks directly to debates on language and educational justice, social mobility, and the future of equitable evaluation in a globalised higher education landscape.