Digital competences are widely regarded as the key competences as defined by various international organizations, such as the European Commission (2018) and the OECD (2022). Given their paramount importance across all facets of contemporary society, a thorough examination of their developmental aspects becomes imperative. The study was conducted at a Chilean state-run university, which stands as the second largest institution in terms of student enrollment. Utilizing a quantitative survey-based methodology, this research study seeks to characterize the level of digital competences among Year-1 students pursuing undergraduate programs. Furthermore, it aims to compare the competence levels of two prominent student groups, distinguished by their distinct secondary schooling pathways, namely, technical-vocational education (TVSE) and scientific-humanistic education (SHSE). For the purpose of data collection, the CompDig-Ped test, aligned with the European framework for digital competences (DigComp), has been employed as the research instrument. The key findings of this study underscore significant disparities in digital competence levels between students originating from SHSE and TVSE secondary school trajectories, with TVSE students demonstrating comparatively lower levels of digital competence. These outcomes are congruent with existing research, which highlights the challenges encountered by technical-vocational secondary education in Chile over an extended period of time.

The present study is aimed at unpacking Latino migrants’ metaphorical conceptualizations of their language learning trajectories as sites for construction and negotiation of their complex identities throughout the process of transnational migration. In particular, our work intends to describe and interrogate three adult Latino migrants’ personal, linguistic and cross-cultural journeys as they experienced their English language learning in Australia. Informed by a qualitative approach, three data sets were gathered: (i) written narratives of personal, linguistic and cross-cultural challenges experienced throughout their trajectories in Australia; (ii) visual metaphors produced by the participants depicting metaphorically their language learning experiences; (iii) face-to-face interviews. The findings revealed the complex personal, cultural and linguistic processes, which have all contributed to re-shaping and negotiating their personal, social and professional identities over time. The metaphorical analysis of the respondents’ spoken narratives and of their metaphorical visual images evidenced the presence of pervasive metaphors of ‘disability” and “impairment” in their discourse.

Dominant processes of economic and cultural globalization have accelerated the use of English as a medium of instruction and precipitated diverse, yet intersected global student mobility, which have resulted in varied forms and uses of English in academic contexts. The present study reports on the findings of research into the attitudes and perceptions of a group of Chinese students studying English as an Additional Language (EAL) towards the legitimacy of non-native speaker (NNS) accents, including their own, as used in cross-cultural interactions in academic contexts. The research aims at unpacking students' views of their Chinese accented English to better understand the ways in which their attitudes towards English accents help negotiate and sustain their ethnic identities in academic contexts. Drawing on a qualitative paradigm, the study utilized in-depth interviews with a sample of four participants. The results suggested that intelligibility is highly regarded at least at the cognitive level, which gives their idiolectal varieties of English greater legitimacy. However, such a hard-developed belief is seriously thwarted by their lived experiences of discrimination over their accented speech, which pushes them back, yet again, to a position of perceived inferiority that hinders their active participation in their academic contexts.