English for the Social Services is a specialised language textbook designed to support the innovative blended learning programme of the same name launched at the Turin University Language Centre in 2004. Since 2019, in addition to receiving traditional university credits, the students involved in this programme have been awarded Open Badge digital certifications ranging from the Common European Framework levels A2 to C1. This new approach to language accreditation in ESP has been documented in various high-impact articles and presentations at international conferences.

<p><strong>Alice Spencer</strong> is a PhD in English studies from the University of Turin, where she now teaches academic writing and translation. As an undergraduate, she studied at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University. She is the author of three books and numerous articles on fourteenth and fifteenth century English literature, children’s literature, EAP and ESP. She co-authored the ESP textbook <em>English for </em><em>the Social Services</em>, the third edition of which came out in 2018.</p>