This paper presents findings from an ongoing longitudinal trend study which seeks to gauge the changes and developments in the profile of first year students enrolled on the English degree course (Grado en Estudios Ingleses) at the University of Cádiz. New students have been surveyed at this university every year by the same research team ever since the study programme was introduced in 2010/2011. It is clear that the needs of the student today have changed considerably and continue to do so and as teachers and assessors it is essential that we move with the times to meet the new demands. The extensive questionnaire covers many different areas and provides important data on the psychological and sociological profile of the incoming students and their aptitudes, concerns, strengths and weaknesses. It also serves to provide detailed feedback about the students’ English language skills, competences, and level of contact with the English language both inside and outside the classroom, as well as revealing their motivation, expectations and study preferences. In this paper we will be focusing, in particular, on the changing tendencies that have been observed over the last 10 years. Findings suggest that students are growing in personal self-confidence as well as language confidence, although the recent pandemic has undoubtedly left its mark. The good news is that more students are entering the degree with a C1 level of English. However, on the downside, a growing gap is emerging between those students who have studied in academies outside school and/or enjoyed language stays abroad and those who have not. Through a careful comparative analysis of the collated data, the ultimate aim is to better understand how to focus our teaching and assessment and what changes need to be implemented in order to meet the needs of the new language student.

Business study programmes have for long been offering English for Specific Purposes (ESP) training for their students so that they have better access to an international labour market. Both the new trends in teaching through an additional language and the improvement of foreign language (FL) levels amongst potential students may make us contemplate the impact of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in this regard, and question whether specific ESP training courses should be given by language, rather than content, experts. In view of this, a key issue to be addressed will be the possibilities of FL development both through ESP training and also through the completion of content courses taught in a FL. This study discusses the current trends in specific Business English teaching within Bachelor of Science in Business Management programmes offered in Spanish universities, as well as anticipating the future of Specific FL development within content programmes and suggesting specific measures to adopt. Results will support the need for ESP training within Business studies as a way to help increase students’ FL proficiency in their particular field of study. This specific language awareness to be encouraged and developed in ESP courses will prove to be highly beneficial when implementing bilingual programmes in Higher Education.

The present study considers the differences between rote learning and meaningful learning through the use of songs in English, and highlights the benefits of this type of activity as an effective means of learning vocabulary in the ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom, particularly amongst primary school children in their second year. This research project was conducted in a school in the autonomous community of Catalonia (Spain), and for the purposes of the study a total of forty-six children divided into 2 groups were observed. The researcher also performed the tasks of the teacher during the development of this study. The aim was to measure the degree of motivation that accompanies the acquisition of vocabulary through songs, and for this end two different classroom methodologies were analysed. While a traditional rote learning methodology was used with the control group, in the case of the intervention group, vocabulary was acquired through the use of songs. The vocabulary for the purpose of this study was related to the seasons and the months of the year. Once the data was collated from both groups and the results were analysed, compared and contrasted, our findings showed that the use of songs had a positive effect on the acquisition process and appeared to lead to better results, allowing students to learn in a meaningful way.

Nowadays, gamified activities for learning purposes, such as escape rooms, have become a significant tool for innovation in teaching and learning (Lathwesen and Belova, 2021; Makri et al., 2021). In particular, the incorporation of digital escape rooms in educational settings has considerably increased since the Covid-19 pandemic (Baroody, 2022). This study aims to gain insights into young English language learners’ perceptions of the use of a digital escape room as a means of supporting learning. A digital escape room based around a time-travelling adventure theme was piloted with a group of 85 young participants in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the European Researchers’ Night. Participants were subsequently surveyed to collect quantitative data on their opinions regarding its design and the usefulness of incorporating this kind of activity in English lessons. Overall, the results were positive, with participants finding both the design and content appealing, motivating and helpful. Findings also suggest that participants perceived that it supported the development of transferable skills, such as problem-solving and independent learning. The feedback and conclusions of the study will serve to improve and refine the design of the escape room as well as suggesting future lines of research concerning the application of this kind of gamified activity in language learning.

Previous studies on the use of digital educational escape rooms (DEERs) have emphasized their positive impact on learners’ motivation and engagement across educational levels (Atienza-Martínez, 2021; Moreno-Fernández et al., 2020; Navarro-Mateos and Pérez-López, 2022; Virdergor, 2021). Also, their benefits have been suggested to be interdisciplinary, with studies reporting on successful experiences in science (López-Royo et al., 2021; Lathwesen and Belova, 2021), and humanities (Armie et al., 2021). However, research on the design and impact of a DEER for language learning is still scarce (Martín-Queralt and Batlle-Rodríguez, 2020; Sylvén and Sundqvist, 2012). The present study describes the development of “In Search of the Golden Tablet” a digital escape room specifically designed for English Language Learners (ELLs) at the A2 level. The plot invites ELLs to travel back in time while engaging in different tasks to solve a mystery about the evolution of language. Two avatars were created to introduce the story and guide the players through the game. Using Genial.ly as an online platform to create interactive content, we elaborated six tasks to work on the players’ receptive skills, putting their linguistic competence to the test through thrilling events. The instructions and tasks were developed following the Global Scale of English (GSE) (Pearson, 2019) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Companion Volume (CEFR CV) (Council of Europe, 2020). This project illustrates the challenges and limitations involved in the design of a DEER. Last, recommendations for future research on the development of digital escape rooms for ELLs at different levels of proficiency are offered.

The increasing importance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as a universally recognized scale to measure language competences has brought with it the need to develop effective, reliable and standard methods of assessment and testing which do not place excessive strain on time and human resources. Given the large number of students enrolled on Spanish university language courses who need to be orally evaluated, this paper first analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of computer-based oral tests as a possible solution when assessing large groups of students as opposed to the face-to-face testing formats. In order to test the feasibility of computer-based oral tests, a perception study of the oral test, TOEFL iBT®, was carried out based on the performance and attitudes of forty-two Spanish university students. The results of this empirical study showed that, even though speededness, topic specificity, integrated skills, and the lack of interaction were the main challenges of this computer-based test format, there was a high degree of acceptance among informants. From these findings, we identified the strengths and weaknesses of the TOEFL iBT® to then propose a new computer-based test which overcomes many of the present drawbacks by incorporating the latest technologies such as gamification to assess English proficiency.