The practicum is an essential component in the initial training of Secondary Education teachers, as it is the first approach to educational practice that future teachers have. This is a fundamental element for improving the quality of education, as it is one of the objectives of the different educational reforms. This research aims to find out the educational value of the practicum for this group, as well as its advantages and limitations. For this purpose, qualitative research was carried out, using as an instrument an interview with 13 Secondary Education teachers, 2 managers of the master’s degree in Secondary Education Teaching at the University of Granada, 144 students of this master’s degree, and 5 specialists in the subject at a national level. The data obtained were analysed by means of content analysis, using the Nvivo12 program. The most relevant results include the importance of the alternating and interdisciplinary models and development of the activities to be developed by the students during their stay in the schools. Respecting the current model, actions to create the necessary synergies and resources (tutors, supervisors, schools and planning) that promote the training model that is intended are particularly relevant.

The study aims to identify how kindergarten teachers perform early literacy assessments in the classroom and the challenges these teachers have in performing such assessments. During the study, the data were gathered through an in-depth interview in the form of a forum group discussion (FGD). Then, the phenomenological data were attained from 30 public and private Kindergarten teachers. The researchers could illustrate how these kindergarten teachers assessed their children's early literacy through these data. Furthermore, the study results show that the teachers' literacy knowledge has been sufficient and that the literacy programs for the children have been variously designed in each school. The teachers' techniques in performing the early literacy assessment are observation and documentation (portfolio), and the measurement of literacy skills itself refers to the scope of literacy. Concerning the findings, numerous obstacles and expectations that kindergarten teachers have are also discussed within the study.

Learning literature is considered challenging for university students, especially in Indonesia, as they must perform assigned tasks and communicate with one another, in addition to receiving and transmitting comprehensible literature content knowledge from and to their lecturers. In many cases, students do not get sufficient feedback on what they are doing. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of feedback strategies by lecturers in English literature lectures in a higher learning institution in Indonesia. Using a qualitative approach, this study involved three lecturers of the English literature department. Meanwhile, data were collected through 300 minutes of video recordings of drama, literary criticism, and prose lectures. The results revealed that the lecturers generated both negative and positive feedback strategies during the lectures. In terms of negative feedback strategies, they criticized students’ responses. By contrast, in terms of positive feedback strategies, they accepted, appreciated, and praised as well as repeated and answered students’ responses. The results also indicated that the feedback strategies became effective tools to improve students’ language competence, literary knowledge, and participation. This study suggested that lecturers use more positive feedback followed by additional comments during lectures as these could foster students’ engagement and keep learning longer.

This study aims to investigate lecturers' needs for academic writing learning materials and determine their prototypes. This study is qualitative research in the form of an exploratory case study. The research instruments were semi-open-ended questionnaires and unstructured and open-ended interview guides. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The results show that the developed learning material for academic writing skills contains seven needs for lecturers in the Department of Indonesian Language and Literature. Four of them have not been found by previous researchers. The results from this study provide new knowledge and contribution to the literature about the need to prototype the learning materials. The lecturers or other researchers can use these seven needs in prototyping learning materials for academic writing skills, such as the needs of learning materials, their forms, presentation system, language use, evaluation form, main menu design, and the way of creating learning materials.

In the vulnerable and unstable contexts that characterize populations in mobility between countries, especially immigrants and refugees, the second language learning has assumed new traits of difficulty. To help the new generation of learners, mainly with origin in forced immigration, the mobile-assisted learning helps motivation for language learning and reduces anxiety related to language acquisition. Attending to this challenge educational scenario, this review study presents a literature systematic analysis and a concrete technology tool that advocates the student-centered approach. A mobile pedagogical plan was developed for the learning of European Portuguese as a Second Language and as a Foreign Language. A critical review of 38 studies was conducted to understand how the mobile-assisted learning responds to the inclusion and education, especially concerning minorities. Based on previous empirical data with 108 immigrants, we understand the type of tasks that new immigrants have more difficulty learning in Portuguese. It was developed as a mobile app for Android, IOS, computers and tablets: the GoGenius app. In mobile format, individuals can access fourteen themed units with a symmetrical game architecture. These games focused the tasks and themes with priority for new language learners who recently arrived in a hosting country. These units involve a consistent number of working hours that intentionally intend to complement to the contact hours that the subjects have in classroom contexts or in unstable communication contexts (daily communication). This technology project aims to match “tailored” psychological and technological resources. Flipped classroom approach showed how mobile-assisted learning reinforces the educational goals worldwide, specifically for language learning. However, mobile tools should be well structured and centered on students’ needs, especially with migration backgrounds.

An issue that has preoccupied young researchers and educators is the interaction of the fields of special and intercultural education as well as the factors that lead to the coexistences of them. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that hinder the learning process of second-generation immigrant students in Greek primary schools. The ages of the children we will refer to are 7-8 years old due to the school achievements in reading and writing that are mastered up to this age point. This study is part of a larger study, which consists of qualitative and quantitative data from two research tools: interviews and questionnaires from teachers and guardians. The results were divided into categories. One of the main ones that stand in the way of children's learning is psychological and social factors, according to 91.8% of the participants in the questionnaire. In addition, it is worth noting that 82.6% argued that the reason students have learning difficulties is due to biological reasons. In conclusion, there is a correlation between learning difficulties and intercultural education that should be studied. The latter can play a pivot role to the assistance of the diverse categories of students' needs.

Speech therapy uses a combination of approaches to assess speech and language, including analysis of spontaneous speech, use of standardized scales and assessment by the child’s parents and/or preschool teachers. In this paper, we present the Teddy Talk Test. Using a sample of sixteen children aged 4 to 5 years, we examined whether the test provided representative data on child language development. The parent questionnaire included information on the parents’ education, the parents’ native language, the child’s gender and the language the parents speak with their child. It was found that the Teddy Talk Test has the characteristics of screening tests for speech and language: it is time-efficient, it covers receptive and expressive language tasks, and it allows for rapid assessment of speech and language in large numbers of children. However, since the Teddy Talk Test has not yet been evaluated, we do not know its value regarding sensitivity, specificity and predictive validity.

The present study aimed to improve the speaking skills of university students at the B1 level who presented limitations in their oral competence. An educational methodology based on designing and implementing an application adapted to the Common European Framework of Reference was developed and applied to boost language performance. A case study was used to conduct the two stages of this research; the former had to do with a control group where intervention was carried out using non-probabilistic sampling with students of the Computing Faculty; a pretest was applied to test the knowledge acquired in their classroom sessions during the first quarter in 2020. The second process was tracking an experimental group, which was assessed after implementing the developed methodology using the app "4skillsweb". A posttest was used to evidence learners' progress during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the results showed improved oral competence in aspects such as grammar and vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation, and interactive communication, with about 95% confidence in its validation. A qualitative-quantitative methodology was used to determine the influence of the English app. A t-students test was implemented to corroborate the data analysis taken by both groups through SOFTWARE JMP v 11.0.0G.

Mathematics test items in International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) such as the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are nested in contexts defined in their assessment framework (e.g., the Personal, Occupational, Societal, and Scientific contexts in PISA). This study followed the item-writing activities of four tertiary mathematics instructors in the Philippines as they constructed context-based mathematics items. They were tasked to write four items each, following a set of specifications for PISA content and context categories. The data consisted of transcripts from the focus-group discussion which was conducted days after the task. The transcripts were then analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of this study showed that the phenomenon of item-writing in the context of writing PISA-like mathematics items had two themes: the phases of item-writing and the dimensions of item-writing. Findings showed that the respondents struggled to find realistic contexts and that they engaged in a problem-solving task likened to solving a puzzle as they attempted to satisfy the content, context, and process categories in the table of specifications (TOS). This study contributes to filling in the research gap on item-writing activities, particularly those of mathematics teachers in the Philippines- a country whose recent mathematical performance in the PISA 2018, TIMSS 2019, and PISA 2022 was nothing short of dismal.

This comprehensive systematic review delves into the increasing prevalence of integrating chatbots into language education. The general objective is to assess the current landscape of knowledge regarding chatbot utilisation and its influence on three crucial elements: students' skills, attitudes, and emotions. Additionally, the review seeks to scrutinise the advantages linked to incorporating chatbots in foreign language teaching, exploring their potential benefits while considering limitations and potential negative impacts on specific skills or user experiences. Consequently, this research offers valuable insights into the application of chatbots in foreign language education, shedding light on their potential advantages and areas that warrant further exploration and enhancement. The integration of chatbots in language learning, despite certain limitations, generally yields positive outcomes and enhances educational results in students' skills. Its characteristics can also influence a language learner's attitude, impacting factors such as motivation, interest, autonomy in learning, and engagement or even their sense of fun. Additionally, chatbots prove to be helpful in creating emotionally positive learning environments and can contribute to boosting students' self-esteem and self-confidence.

In the realm of education, particularly in the domain of second language acquisition, understanding the intricate interplay between emotions and learning processes is a challenging endeavor. This research aims to explore the importance of studying anxiety-related emotions in the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language by conducting a study based on a quantitative methodology. To that end, a 33-item instrument was given to a total of 231 (n=231) university students who learn and use English in class in diverse degrees in the social and health sciences. The results obtained shed light on the negative emotions that students report during their English classes, such as fear, shame, nervousness, or feelings of judgement. However, not all the emotions are negative, since students also feel relaxed and interested. This study offers a new perspective on this topic since it compares different disciplines, underscoring the need to detect trends in different areas and therefore tailor pedagogy to different student profiles and degree programs.