Alexis Contreras-Falcones

Women experiencing intimate partner violence may disclose abuse to personal contacts, approach institutions, or use both. We examined the frequency, correlates, and combinations of these responses in Ecuador. The 2019 National Survey on Family Relationships and Gender-Based Violence against Women provided data on 4475 married or cohabiting women aged 15 years or older reporting current-partner violence. Survey-weighted latent class analysis identified groups with similar combinations of six types of personal and institutional contact among 2346 women who reported at least one type. A separate survey-weighted logistic regression examined characteristics associated with disclosure or institutional contact. Across the full sample, 49.34% reported neither. Latent class analysis suggested three profiles among women who identified a source. Focused informal disclosure (41.09%) usually involved one category of personal contact, while diversified network response (55.41%) involved broader personal networks and some institutional contact. Multisector institutional response (3.49%) combined police or emergency services, justice services, and personal contacts. These percentages describe the latent class sample. The multisector institutional response profile represented 1.74% of the full sample and had the highest prevalence of several violence indicators and consequences. Physical and repeated violence were associated with higher odds of any response, and rural residence with lower odds. In a secondary comparison, institutional contact was more common among separated or divorced women reporting former-partner violence than among women in ongoing unions (22.84% versus 9.69%). The profiles show how personal networks remain involved across different levels of institutional contact. Longitudinal research should examine which combinations sustain assistance and improve safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic required universities to reorganize teaching and student services when campus access was restricted. This exploratory study examines whether reported university management practices were associated with enrollment change. University leaders in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela completed a survey between November 2021 and January 2022, rating eight management domains before and during the pandemic. Descriptive analyses included 105 institutional survey records. Enrollment analyses used 74 institutions in Colombia and Ecuador with usable student counts for 2019 and 2023. Separate regression models examined each pre-pandemic management domain, accounting for baseline institutional size, country, and perceived risks. Additional analyses examined relative enrollment change and compared institutions with different levels of reported management implementation during the pandemic. Enrollment increased by an average of 2935 students, although the median increase was considerably smaller, at 328 students. None of the eight management domains showed a statistically significant association with enrollment change after adjustment. Differences across implementation categories were also not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. These findings did not establish a clear association between the measured management practices and enrollment change in this sample. Retrospective reporting and limited information on institutional circumstances constrain interpretation. The study contributes evidence on university management in a region where institutional data remain scarce. Prospective research should examine how specific practices relate to student retention, progression, and access to services, which would provide a more direct basis for assessing educational continuity during future disruptions.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in second-language writing, while translanguaging can serve as a pedagogical resource for mobilizing multilingual repertoires. Neither resource is inherently metacognitive. This Perspective conceptualizes intentional translanguaging and GenAI as complementary resources within a teacher-mediated framework for EFL writing. The Integrated Intentional Translanguaging–GenAI Framework for Reflective Decision-Making situates both resources across planning, monitoring, revision/evaluation, and post-writing through an author-developed heuristic: identify a purpose, examine alternatives, compare, judge, decide, and reflect. Its central mechanism is learner evaluative judgment: learners assess multilingual and AI-generated alternatives and decide whether to accept, modify, reject, or further examine them while retaining authorship and regulatory responsibility. Teacher-mediated scaffolding may structure this process through expectations, modeling, criteria, prompts, feedback, and adjusted support. In Latin American EFL contexts, linguistic diversity, technological access, institutional expectations, teacher preparation, and language ideologies may shape adaptation. The framework is conceptual and context-sensitive, makes no causal claims, and identifies directions for empirical examination.

Maximizing target-language exposure may increase opportunities for oral practice in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom; however, rigid English-only practices may restrict beginning learners’ comprehension and participation. This classroom pilot study introduced and examined the classroom implementation of the Scaffolded English-Dominant Interaction Framework, which combines comprehensible input, teacher scaffolding, communicative interaction, and progressively independent oral production. A quantitative-dominant embedded mixed-methods design was employed with 30 fourth-grade A1 learners aged 8-9 years at a private school in Ecuador. Participants completed parallel speaking tasks before and after a 12-session intervention. Performance was rated using a three-point analytic rubric addressing reliance on the first language (L1), speech pauses, and hesitations. The qualitative process was obtained from 12 structured teacher reflection journals and analyzed thematically. The median composite score increased from 5 to 8. The primary two-sided Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated a statistically significant within-group change, W = 435.00, p < .001, r _rb = 1.00, with 29 positive differences and one tie. A paired sample t-test conducted as a sensitivity analysis produced the same conclusion, t (29) = 9.95, p < .001, d _z = 1.82. Teacher journals described an overall but task-dependent pattern of greater English-mediated participation, less reliance on Spanish, more complete responses, and fewer extended pauses and hesitations during later structured tasks. The journals also showed that instructional scaffolding remained important throughout the intervention. The journal evidence complemented the quantitative findings by contextualizing the observed changes in classroom-rated oral performance across intervention. However, the one-group design, ordinal classroom ratings, and reliance on teacher-generated quantitative and qualitative evidence preclude causal conclusions and limit the independence of the two data strands. The study documents the classroom implementation of the framework and provides preliminary evidence to guide its evaluation through controlled designs and direct temporal-fluency measures.

This study investigated whether hybrid (ChatGPT-generated and teacher-provided) feedback could yield greater gains in grammatical accuracy than teacher-only feedback among on-site A2-level English as a foreign language (EFL) students at a technical higher education institute in Quito, Ecuador. A six-week quasi-experimental study involved 41 students from two intact classes: teacher-only ( n = 18) and hybrid feedback ( n = 23). Both groups completed six handwritten writing tasks. Initial feedback was provided in English by the teacher or ChatGPT. Students in both groups reviewed this feedback using the textbook, class notes, and teacher clarification in English and Spanish as needed before rewriting their sentences. All students completed the same 18-item Grammar Accuracy Writing Test before and after the intervention. The test assessed verb tense usage, word order, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Both groups improved from pretest to posttest. Teacher-only scores increased from M = 7.17 to M = 9.61 and hybrid scores from M = 9.17 to M = 10.78. The unadjusted gain difference (hybrid minus teacher-only) was −0.84 points [95% confidence interval (−2.68, 1.00), p = 0.364]. Analysis of covariance controlling for pretest scores also detected no statistically significant difference [adjusted mean difference = −0.40 points, 95% confidence interval (−2.25, 1.45), p = 0.664]. None of the six grammatical-category comparisons reached statistical significance after Holm correction. Interpretation is limited by the small sample, intact classes with different schedules, repeated use of the same test, and scoring by one non-blinded rater. The confidence intervals include effects favoring either condition, so the nonsignificant results should not be interpreted as evidence of equivalence. The study did not detect a statistically significant advantage for hybrid feedback in this A2 EFL context. Because both conditions included teacher mediation, the findings do not isolate the independent contribution of ChatGPT. Future research should examine longer interventions, larger samples, and how learners interpret and apply AI-generated feedback.

Metacognitive regulation—specifically planning, monitoring, and evaluation—is essential for effective foreign language learning. However, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction in Latin America rarely leverages learners’ linguistic repertoires to support higher-order processes. Translanguaging may serve as a potential scaffold for metacognitive engagement, but its cognitive mechanisms and pedagogical implications remain relatively under-theorized in regional EFL scholarship. This perspective article examines two guiding questions: (1) How can translanguaging function as a metacognitive strategy that enhances learners’ planning, monitoring, and evaluation processes? (2) What contextual, pedagogical, and policy-related factors influence the positioning of translanguaging as a metacognitive strategy in Latin American EFL classrooms, and what instructional patterns emerge from this analysis? Drawing on research published between 2015 and 2025, the article integrates sociocultural and metacognitive theory to propose a conceptual reframing in which translanguaging may function as a deliberate regulatory tool that can support learners in externalizing thinking, comparing meanings, and evaluating understanding. The analysis highlights insights and empirical evidence regarding vocabulary retention, reading comprehension, collaborative knowledge construction, and leaners’ autonomy. The analysis also suggests the presence of policy-level ambiguities regarding the role of learners’ linguistic repertoires in EFL instruction. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes pathways for practice, including bilingual learning objectives, prewriting in L1, translanguaging circles, and scaffolded content language integrated learning (CLIL) approaches. This article argues for rethinking EFL pedagogy through a metacognitive lens and calls for policy frameworks that acknowledge learners’ full linguistic repertoires as resources for language learning.

In the 21st century, university programs must respond to the demands of the job market, which increasingly requires professionals capable of adapting to dynamic environments and generating innovative ideas. The development of critical and creative thinking, the promotion of collaborative learning, and preparation to face future challenges are essential to address complex problems and achieve professional success. In this context, Design Thinking (DT), a methodology focused on creative problem-solving, offers a promising strategy for integration into higher education, particularly in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This study examines the impact of a DT-based project on the development of speaking skills in 86 students from a public university in Ecuador, divided into a control group (n = 43) and an experimental group (n = 43). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative responses were examined through thematic coding. The findings indicate that the implementation of DT improved the speaking performance of the experimental group by 0.4 points and fostered the development of both cognitive and emotional competencies, such as problem-solving, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, cognitive structuring, and teamwork. However, participants reported challenges related to time organization, and lack of confidence at the beginning of the project. Overall, the results support DT as an effective methodological approach to promote context-based oral communication. The authors recommend creating Design Thinking experiences based on students' professional interests to develop meaningful language skills to apply in real-world situations.