As the previous one, this third issue of Íkala finds us amidst a grueling pandemic. The Editorial team wants to take this opportunity to fraternize with all of you who have suffered in one way or another because of it and wish you a prompt physical, emotional and spiritual recovery. We also want to take the opportunity to invite all of you to send us your proposals for our special issue on The Role of Technology in Language Teaching and Learning amid the Crisis Generated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We believe that this issue, guestedited by Professors Jorge Pineda, from Universidad de Antioquia, Marta González-Lloret from University of Hawaii, and Laia Canals, from Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, and due for publication in September 2021, will be a prime space to reunite all of our thoughts and concerns about this phenomenon, to discuss how it has affected our students and ourselves as educators in our various settings, and to share the multiple ways we have devised to respond to the new challenges posed by it.

In the meantime, we want to invite you to take a look at the articles in this issue. The issue is comprised of thirteen relevant and thought-provoking articles on different aspects of language and language education, policy, research, analysis, display, translation and interpretation. Of these, nine are written in Spanish and four are in English. Eight are empirical studies and one is a case study, three are literature reviews, and one is a book review.

The first nine articles present studies conducted in countries such as Colombia, Spain, United States, Panama, Chile, and Peru. Through the use of qualitative, quantitative and mixed approaches and various research methods, which include case study, action research, and critical discourse analysis, the studies explore issues such as EFL teachers’ identities (Buendía-Arias et al.), teacher preparation in reading aloud (Trigo-Ibáñez et al.), Spanish instruction on metaphors (Tocaimaza-Hatch), technological tools for people with hearing loss (Agulló & Matamala, and Rodríguez-Fuentes et al.), the role of sign language interpreters in Chile (Pérez et al.), the profile of Colombian translators and interpreters (Giraldo et al.), the conflation of several languages in the linguistic landscape of Bilbao (Fernández), and the debates revolving around language policy making in Peru (Lovón-Cueva & Quispe-Lacma).

These studies also draw implications for EFL and early childhood teacher preparation, and for instruction of Spanish heritage speakers and L2 learners. Besides, they offer suggestions on how to improve the tools, teaching, and teacher preparation for people with hearing loss and for translators and interpreters in Colombia. Finally, they provide insights on how to conduct research on majority and minority languages in the linguistic landscape, and how to speak and communicate in public spaces such as congress so that all languages are recognized and empowered.

The literature reviews present in depth overviews of three very current and key topics for language educators and researchers: historical changes in the conception of reading (Parodi et al.) and in definitions and descriptions of translation (Ordoñez-López), and the type of research that is being carried out on American indigenous languages (Cisternas & Olate). The articles call our attention about the need to conduct more theoretical and empirical research on the following topics: (a) how to read different text types and genres from professional and academic discourse through different modes and media (Parodi et al.), (b) how the scope in translation studies has consolidated in recently published reference works, and (c) the modes of circulation and the linguistic resources employed by speakers to mobilize linguistic ideologies related to minority languages (Cisternas & Olate).

The last article reviews the book Translation and Paratexts, by Kathryn Batchelor (2018). Besides going over the contents of the different chapters, Correa-Larios analyzes how Batchelor’s proposal contributes to existing conceptual frameworks and how it can be problematic for some readers who find it too ample and flexible.

We hope you enjoy this inspiring collection and you stay safe during these troubled and unpredictable times!