The evolution of foreign language learning in higher education: a risky approach

Delplancq, Véronique; Lopes, Ana Maria Costa; Pereira, José Manuel de Almeida; Martin, Justine Anne Sophie Celine; Casañ-Pitarch, Ricardo; Gillain, Romain; Fidalgo, Susana

Publication

The evolution of foreign language learning in higher education: a risky approach

2025-06-30Conference paper

dc.contributor.author	Delplancq, Véronique
dc.contributor.author	Lopes, Ana Maria Costa
dc.contributor.author	Pereira, José Manuel de Almeida
dc.contributor.author	Martin, Justine Anne Sophie Celine
dc.contributor.author	Casañ-Pitarch, Ricardo
dc.contributor.author	Gillain, Romain
dc.contributor.author	Fidalgo, Susana
dc.date.accessioned	2025-07-07T14:35:08Z
dc.date.available	2025-07-07T14:35:08Z
dc.date.issued	2025-06-30	en_US
dc.date.updated	2025-07-05T06:21:42Z
dc.description.abstract	The introduction of active pedagogies into teaching practices is creating renewed motivation and energy for teachers and students alike. These varied pedagogies, marked by a few trends, represent, particularly in higher education (HE), a tremendous opportunity to modernise content and make the learning environment livelier and more open. However, it should be acknowledged that many difficulties have arisen, and many challenges need to be overcome. It is not only a question of selecting suitable active teaching methods, but it is also vital to define strategies that are appropriate to the target audience, the time available, and the skills being pursued to be flexible and responsive enough to reorient learners very quickly, even during class time, and to create activities that are motivating and effective in terms of learning. The impact on assessment is evident. Digital tools play a major role in this new paradigm, but they can also lead to problems in the students' work if they do not identify with the target digital tools. Learning foreign languages (FL) is becoming more communicative and interactive. In this sense, online platforms, mobile applications, and multimedia resources offer tremendous opportunities to develop multiple skills and diversify knowledge influenced by social and professional demands. This research shows the results of studies carried out in recent years with students of the Media Studies degree at the Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (Portugal) in FL courses. We will introduce the active teaching methods used, discuss the pedagogical devices, lesson plans and choices made regarding the digital tools used, and list the difficulties encountered by the teachers and the major challenges they had to tackle in order to guarantee and maintain the students’ motivation and commitment throughout the course. Keeping these ideas in mind, the assessment of skills and knowledge also needs to evolve to better guarantee the fulfilment of the learning objectives. In conclusion, the risks created by this deep and extremely rapid evolution are inherent to the extraordinary opportunities to rethink FL learning and test new activities characterised by promoting creativity at the HE level. The key factor lies in the adaptability of all the participants involved in the process, the willingness to move ahead, away from the comfort zone of traditional approaches and to innovate in a reasonable and effective way.	eng
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.eissn	2184-1489
dc.identifier.isbn	978-989-35728-8-7	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2184-044X
dc.identifier.slug	cv-prod-4520972
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13558
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.peerreviewed	yes
dc.publisher	Mafalda Carmo	en_US
dc.relation	UIDB/05507/2020
dc.relation.hasversion	https://end-educationconference.org/proceedings/
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	opportunities
dc.subject	challenges
dc.subject	higher education
dc.subject	Active pedagogies
dc.subject	foreign languages
dc.title	The evolution of foreign language learning in higher education: a risky approach	eng
dc.type	conference paper	en_US
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.conferenceDate	2025
oaire.citation.conferencePlace	Portugal	en_US
oaire.citation.endPage	420
oaire.citation.startPage	416
oaire.citation.title	Education and New Developments 2025 Volume 2
oaire.version	http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyName	Gillain
person.givenName	Romain
person.identifier.ciencia-id	3514-9BEE-DD4D
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0003-1933-1072
rcaap.cv.cienciaid	3514-9BEE-DD4D \| Romain Gillain
rcaap.rights	openAccess	en_US
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	9eeda64d-6f4d-45a4-a02b-b65a5ecacbdd
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	9eeda64d-6f4d-45a4-a02b-b65a5ecacbdd