The Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) model presents a transformative framework for advancing sustainability in food festival tourism, particularly in Thailand. Food festivals serve as dynamic platforms for celebrating local culinary heritage while fostering environmental responsibility and economic resilience. This study examined the integration of the BCG model with critical success factors and community identity to assess its impact on sustainable food festival management. Employing a quantitative research approach and structural equation modeling, data were collected from 503 festival attendees to analyze key relationships among event management, community identity, and sustainability practices. The findings underscore the effectiveness of the BCG model in enhancing resource efficiency, minimizing waste, and promoting local sourcing, thus strengthening the sustainability and attractiveness of food festivals. Notably, while the role of community identity was found to be less significant than anticipated, this suggests evolving tourist preferences favoring sustainability and quality over traditional cultural attributes. These insights offer valuable implications for policymakers, event organizers, and stakeholders in designing eco-conscious, culturally enriching festivals that align with the global sustainability goals. This study contributes to the theoretical discourse on sustainable tourism and provides practical strategies to foster environmentally responsible and economically viable food festivals.

L2 reading fluency and accuracy are crucial aspects of second language (L2) acquisition, as they directly influence cognitive processing and overall reading comprehension. Developing these skills enables learners to engage with texts efficiently and build confidence in their reading abilities. This study uses reading software to examine the relationship between reading fluency and accuracy in the L2 learning context. Two primary research questions were addressed: the correlation between reading fluency and accuracy and potential gender-based differences in reading performance metrics, including reading time, comprehension, and developmental progress. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a strong, positive relationship between fluency and accuracy, indicating that improvements in one skill are associated with enhancements in the other. Additionally, fluency and accuracy were positively correlated with reading comprehension and developmental measures, underscoring the interconnected nature of these skills. Gender comparisons, analyzed through independent t-tests, indicated no significant differences in reading software engagement or performance. This suggests the software provides equitable support across genders, enabling consistent skill development in fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. The findings highlight the critical role of technology in facilitating balanced reading instruction and offer insights into its potential to address diverse learner needs effectively.

Learner autonomy is believed to play a leading role in life-long learning; as a result, a myriad of studies have been conducted to discover tools to promote learner autonomy (e.g., blogs, Facebook, web 2.0, learning contracts, etc.). Nevertheless, the effects of a portfolio on promoting learner autonomy have not been explored much. This paper endeavored to investigate whether or not learner autonomy was developed with the implementation of the portfolio-based learner autonomy development (PLAD) model in an EFL writing course. Regarding research methodology, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a questionnaire with closed-ended and open-ended items and reflection logs kept in portfolios. For data analysis, the quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings showed the development of learner autonomy after the course in which a portfolio was employed as a learning tool. In particular, the participants were aware of learner autonomy and felt positive about autonomous learning tasks, especially writing reflection. Self-assessment, however, was the most challenging task which they encountered because of lack of confidence and experience. In addition, it was evident that the participants could choose learning materials when they were offered freedom and rights to do this task.

Bridging Content and Language in English-medium Engineering Programs

This qualitative research aims to explore the supportive factors and constraints on the development of EFL learners’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in the EFL context of Vietnam. Forty-seven EFL learners who were learning General English at a foreign language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were involved in this study. Two research instruments, namely diary and semi-structured group interview, were employed to garner data. The findings revealed that there were more supportive factors (active learners, inspirational teacher, interactive learning material and task, and dynamic context) than constraints (learner differences and task administration) that affected learners’ ICC development. This study recommends that different factors such as learners, teacher, learning material/task, and context, should be scrutinized so as to facilitate the development process of learners’ ICC.

Preferential Admission Policies for Ethnic Minority Students in Yunnan: Help or Hindrance