The purpose of the study reported here is to illustrate how an approach based on a culturally appropriate 'shepherd metaphor' has helped Asian students to cross cultural boundaries and to engage in critical thinking online. Asian

Given the changing nature of literacy, there is an urgent need to develop alternative ways of assessment in support of students' new literacy practices in the digital age. While emergent models of multimodal assessment are being developed in theoretical contexts, the study reported in this paper illustrates how multimodal theories can be realized in classroom practice. Seeking to address the needs of both literacy instruction and assessment, this study proposed a design rubric from the multiliteracies perspective to assess students' design of multimodal texts as a means to support assessable new literacy practices. Specifically, this research aimed to investigate how the design rubric as a formative assessment tool affects English learners' multimodal text production (in this case, presentation slides). The empirical results of this study reveal that the theory‐driven design rubric was useful for enhancing the students' understanding and awareness of the multimodal nature of presentation slides and led to improvement in their multimodal text production. The findings have important implications for scaffolding students' multimodal literacy by using formative assessment as one of the instructional approaches in multiliteracies pedagogy. Practitioner Notes The advent of digital technology brings about a re‐conceptualization of literacy. Today's students must be literate in both traditional printed texts and multimodal texts that are commonly associated with digital technology and multimedia. New literacy practices require teachers to develop new assessment practices. This paper offers valuable insights into literacy instruction and assessment. This paper presents a course design using action research that responds to the urgent need to develop alternative ways of assessment in support of students' new literacy practices in the digital age. This paper proposes a theory‐driven design rubric from the multiliteracies perspective to assess learners' multimodal text production. Implications for practice and/or policy Multimodal assessment allows teachers to help students build a metalanguage for understanding and describing multimodal texts. Literacy and language educators may consider adapting the proposed design rubric as a formative assessment tool to provide students with constructive feedback pertaining to the multimodality of texts. The proposed design rubric can also be used for peer review and self‐assessment.

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Holistic education is a popular trend in the midst of various educational reforms, yet little systematic research has been done to consider its application in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) for Asian Chinese learners. According to the New Zealand Ministry of Education, holistic education is defined as an approach to teaching to include the physical, social, emotional, cultural, and cognitive dimensions of a person's growth. Education reform in Taiwan has adopted a Western constructivist approach. However, in Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), open teacher-student and student-student interactions are not as common as they are in the social constructivist model found in the Anglo-Saxon culture. CHC values social harmony, teachers' authority, and silence to avoid confrontation. Without understanding the affective and social environment in the Western context, holistic education is unlikely to be successfully implemented in Taiwan. The purpose of this research is to understand the contextualization of the holistic environment and pedagogical strategies that nurture student-teacher and studentstudent interactions in a holistic approach to EFL. This study utilized qualitative research methods of observation and in-depth interviews of New Zealand English teachers and observed the pedagogical practices in New Zealand English classes. This research provided effective pedagogical strategies for implementing the social and affective support of a holistic educational approach for Asian EFL students.

There are two features that are unusual, if not quite unique, in the way BJET handles submitted papers. The first is that reviewers choose papers that they are attracted to review, in accordance with their titles. The second is that when a draft is found in need of revision, the editor may offer the writer or writers the assistance of a 'critical friend' for that process of revision. After one such offer had been taken up and followed through, the editor agreed to the suggestion that the critical friend and draft author might report impressions of their shared experience, for the information of readers and the possible encouragement of others who might consider engaging in such collaboration in the future. Here are their accounts.The critical friend wrote:In my original reviews of the submitted paper and of a rejected predecessor, I had expressed interest in the message the writer had to convey. So I willingly accepted Nick's invitation to act as a critical friend. I had no clear impression of what this activity might entail for me. I thought I would simply be suggesting one-off editorial changes, to make the text smoother. Maybe I would identify the occasional point which could usefully be added or expanded upon. And that would be that. But quickly I found myself seeing several places where readers would benefit from much more information. I asked for a previous paper which the writer had published locally, to help us to fill out the BJET draft. The revised version was already quite large-being about 8000 words long. I worried from the start about the word count. So I pruned chunks of text here and there. I tried at the same time to resist the temptation to add any of my own thinking. I simply attempted, in Kelly's phrase, to 'get inside the writer's skin' and think and write like her. I hoped I was doing so. I kept reporting back my suggestions. The writer responded helpfully, and very tolerantly, in re-shaping these proposed changes.It's been a rewarding experience for me. I've learnt a great deal about the cultural background from which my own Chinese students come. I've been prompted to think more deeply about students' affective needs, which have long concerned me. I've questioned my own practices and priorities.It's also been an interesting virtual relationship. I introduced myself when I first made contact. I tried to reassure the writer that I had been active in her academic area and shared certain interests therein. I messaged carefully and I hope punctiliously. Then, as the relationship developed, I found that I slipped carelessly into Scots phraseology from time to time. As a result, I had