In this issue of New Routes, we explore how language education can open doors, doors to opportunity, to self-expression, and to a more inclusive, equitable future. Whether through storytelling, certification, skill-building, or publishing, each article offers a different lens on how English language teaching can recognise students’ identities, support their goals, and amplify their voices.
Our cover topic, Are Your Students “Future-Ready”?, by Sean Bermingham, presents a practical, research-informed framework of future-ready skills. Communication, adaptability, collaboration, and resilience top the list, and the good news is that these skills are already at the heart of many language learning experiences. Bermingham shows how English teachers can build units and projects around real-life skills that help learners navigate not just exams or interviews, but life itself.
Storytelling is another powerful way to prepare students for the future, especially when it reflects their lived experiences. In the article Sharing Stories and Diversity in ELT, Karina Pearl Thorne and Talita N. Rochetti explore how bringing lesser-heard voices into the classroom can strengthen students’ motivation, confidence, and connection to English. They offer a step-by-step framework for reading, writing, and sharing stories that celebrate cultural diversity and encourage learner agency.
That same theme of inclusion and opportunity is central to the article The Social Challenges of Academic Mobility in Brazil and Their Impact on the TOEFL iBT, by Omar Chihane. This article positions language assessment not just as a test, but as a social bridge. Chihane highlights how updates to the TOEFL iBT, including adaptive design, a new CEFR-aligned scoring system, and broader access to preparation resources, are helping reduce barriers for learners from varied socioeconomic backgrounds. The exam becomes more than an entry requirement; it becomes a recognition of diverse paths to proficiency.
This edition also features an interview with Donaldo W. Buchweitz, founder of Ciranda Cultural, whose life and career are rooted in a deep belief in the power of books and stories. His reflections remind us that inclusion is also about access, about making sure that books reach the hands of those who need them most. For Buchweitz, books are not just tools for learning, but companions that carry emotion, imagination, and transformation.
In different ways, all the contributions in this issue reinforce a powerful idea: language education is not only about skills, but about access, representation, and possibility. Whether you are teaching teens, training adults, or shaping policy, we hope this edition encourages you to keep asking: Whose voices are we including? What opportunities are we creating? And how can we keep the doors open for all learners?
Enjoy the read!
Letícia Moraes
editorial@troikabr.com
NUEVAS RUTAS
La autora, Guadalupe Ruiz Fajardo nos habla sobre la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la Interacción oral y la conversación.
Invita a los docentes a incorporar la conversación auténtica en sus clases, superando la rigidez de los diálogos artificiales de los manuales tradicionales.
La conversación no es solo hablar, sino una práctica social compleja que requiere cooperación, comprensión y sensibilidad cultural. Enseñar conversación significa enseñar a gestionar essa complejidad en la interacción global.
Aprender una lengua no es solo adquirir vocabulario y estructuras gramaticales , sino también aprender interactuar , a construir conjuntamente significados y a negociar sentidos en contextos auténticos.
Sara g. Tcharkhetian
apoio.espanhol@disal.com.br
