Fidalgo, SusanaDelplancq, VéroniqueLopes, Ana Maria CostaPereira, JoséGillain, Romain2025-10-302025-10-302025-10V. Delplancq, A. M. Costa, J. Pereira, R. Gillain and S. Fidalgo (2025); CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: RETHINKING THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIGITAL TOOLS, CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND COGNITIVE LOAD FOR A BALANCED ACTIVE PEDAGOGY Int. J. of Adv. Res. (Oct). 751-757] (ISSN 2320-5407).3107-4928http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14434The use of digital tools in foreign language learning in higher education raises many pedagogical challenges, particularly in terms of the skills to be developed, vital for society and the labour world, while simultane ously managing the cognitive load of students. Based on the results of experiments carried out with undergraduate Media Studies students at the Escola Superior de Educação de Viseu(Portugal), the paper questions the effects of applying active pedagogies using digital tools upon the acquisition of these competences, with particular focus on cultural intelligence, while keeping students' cognitive load balanced. Results show that pedagogical activation can favour the development of diverse competences and cognitive processes, but presents risks, namely overload in the case of poorly planned activities. The article aims to contribute to the design of balanced, rich and cognitively sustainable pedagogical devices, contributing to an active pedagogy with the integration of the digital tools.engactive pedagogiesforeign languages for specific purposesdigital environmentscognitive loaddiversified competencesresearch article2025-10-30cv-prod-459134910.21474/IJAR01/219642320-5407