ABSTRACT Although research on teacher identity has expanded significantly in today's globalizing world, the lived experiences of refugee teachers within broader discussions of multilingualism, identity, and educational policy are underexamined. Addressing this gap, the present study explores how multilingual refugee pre‐service English language teachers in Türkiye construct and negotiate their professional identities. Grounded in translanguaging theory, trauma‐informed pedagogy, and raciolinguistic ideologies, the study adopts a narrative inquiry design within a multiple‐case framework. Data were generated through interviews, narratives, field notes and analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that refugee pre‐service English language teachers employed four interconnected translanguaging orientations, i.e., compartmentalized, relational, transitional, and affective translanguaging, to negotiate identity. Furthermore, participants transformed experiences of translanguaging identity dissonance into forms of agentive linguistic repositioning. Implications are discussed.
ABSTRACT Self‐directed Learning (SDL) is an important skill for learners of all ages and phases of life. Generative AI facilitates self‐directed second language (L2) learning by providing interactive, personalised access to online resources. However, existing research on AI‐assisted self‐directed L2 learning focuses on adult learners in higher education, leaving a gap in understanding how adolescent learners engage in SDL in secondary schools. This study addresses this gap by examining how secondary students engage with ChatGPT in self‐directed L2 learning and the extent to which they view it as a useful learning companion. Drawing on SDL theory and Candy's (1991) autodidaxy framework, we examined students' attitudes, behaviours, readiness, frequency of usage, and perceptions of ChatGPT's role in self‐directed L2 learning. Using a mixed‐methods approach, data were collected through a survey of 278 students and interviews with 15 participants. The survey findings show that students engaged with ChatGPT at a moderate level and used it as a goal‐oriented learning aid, primarily for task‐related functions such as idea generation, drafting support, and on‐demand review, with senior students engaging more often than junior students. The interview findings reveal that students viewed ChatGPT as a supportive but bounded learning companion, valuing its help with content support, drafting, and flexible, self‐paced learning, while not seeing it as a substitute for teachers. They favoured teacher‐guided use over being prohibited from using ChatGPT, highlighting the complementary roles of learner autonomy and teacher scaffolding in responsible AI‐supported SDL.
ABSTRACT Self‐assessment (SA) and self‐feedback (SF) have gained increasing attention in second language writing (L2) research as key mechanisms supporting self‐regulated learning and learner autonomy. However, as warned by some scholars, conceptual and methodological challenges still remain in understanding and exploring the two constructs in L2 writing research. This paper presents a critical scoping review of 33 studies on SA and SF in L2 writing to examine how these constructs have been conceptualized and studied, with the aim of identifying key theoretical and methodological challenges in the field. Drawing on a synthesis of the literature, the review maps major research trends and highlights three interrelated issues: (1) a paradox between learner autonomy and external support in research design and pedagogy; (2) the blurring of boundaries between SA and SF, particularly in relation to formative versus summative functions and the use of rubrics as validation tools; and (3) the black box issues when claiming the cause‐and‐effect relations between SA/SF and learning outcomes, given the internal and nonlinear nature of feedback processes. In response, the paper proposes a future research agenda that emphasizes (a) balancing autonomy with flexible external scaffolding, (b) clarifying the distinct but complementary roles of SA and SF, and (c) shifting attention from linear cause–and–effect models toward process‐oriented investigations of internal feedback generation and use. By presenting a critical synthesis of existing work, the review contributes to a more precise theoretical understanding of SA and SF and offers methodological guidance for advancing learning‐oriented L2 writing research.
ABSTRACT External grammar profiles, such as the English Grammar Profile (EGP), provide Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)‐linked descriptions of learner output, but their level assignments cannot be assumed to offer a ready‐made sequence for local instruction. What remains underexamined is how learner‐output‐based descriptors correspond to the grammatical input, non‐attestation, and sequencing patterns represented in school textbooks. This study addresses this gap by using Taiwan's government‐approved K–12 EFL textbooks as evidence of textbook‐based instructional input for examining the curriculum‐facing applicability of A1–B2 CEFR/EGP‐linked grammar descriptors. The analysis traced descriptor instantiation and non‐attestation, distributional salience across school stages, level mismatches between EGP benchmark placement and textbook sequencing, and rule‐based consolidation for pedagogical coherence. The resulting profile comprises 465 attested and consolidated descriptors, organized by within‐level salience and formulated as teachable grammar targets. B2 descriptors showed the highest rate of non‐attestation, suggesting that upper‐level learner‐output profiles are not fully mirrored in mainstream school textbook input. The A2 and B1 bands showed especially differentiated salience patterns, indicating that broad CEFR levels contain internally varied patterns of textbook‐based instructional salience. Selected mismatches between EGP placement and textbook sequencing further point to possible input–output lag rather than simple misalignment. The study contributes a textbook‐input‐based grammar descriptor mapping for Taiwan's K–12 EFL context and conceptualizes descriptor localization as a comparison between externally benchmarked learner‐output evidence and locally available instructional input, integrating opportunity to learn, opportunity to use, and argument‐based validity reasoning in curriculum‐facing grammar profile development.
ABSTRACT This study examines how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is grammatically positioned in Discussion sections of GenAI‐related academic writing research. From 134 eligible articles, 50 were selected through year‐by‐topic stratified probability sampling, yielding 969 AI‐related occurrences and 1026 grammatical relations. We analysed three layers: rank, clause function, and Subject status. Valence was unrelated to the nominal–clausal boundary and to Participant–Circumstance status, but was associated with Clause versus Embedded_clause positioning; this association remained in paper‐robust and within‐paper analyses. Positive and Negative claims did not differ reliably in Subject status. Concordance analysis showed that embedded AI relations could occur within propositions asserted in ranking clauses. The findings show that grammatical dimensions of AI positioning pattern differently across evaluative contexts and should not be collapsed into a single agency gradient.
ABSTRACT Traditional understandings of pragmatic competence within the field of second language acquisition have tended to emphasise the learner's ability to successfully comprehend the pragmatic norms of ‘native speakers’ in terms of mappings between linguistic forms, functions, and context. Yet such theoretical understandings have tended not to acknowledge that engaging with new norms relating to common pragmatic acts such as greetings, requests, apologies, compliments, offers etc. is a morally embedded process that has the potential to challenge learners’ deep assumptions about socially (in)appropriate linguistic behaviour and generate negative evaluations of difference based on a sense of psychological threat. What this means is that models of pragmatic competence have not considered the need for learners to become able to manage the emotional tensions that emerge as part of their engagement with new linguistic practices and their attempts to establish a sense of legitimacy as social actors within the new language. This stands in contrast to the increasing emphasis on emotions in language teaching and learning more broadly. This critical commentary will draw on research at the intersections of pragmatics and moral psychology to argue for the need to recognise the profoundly affective nature of L2 pragmatics learning and the management of defensive reactions to pragmatic and cultural differences as a key constituent of pragmatic competence. It will be argued that psychological resistance to certain aspects of L2 pragmatics needs to be viewed as a normal part of the learning process and the inevitably non‐linear process of pragmatic development.
ABSTRACT Focusing on Turkish as a second language (L2) education among migrant learners in Türkiye, this systematic review examines how empirical research has conceptualized the pedagogical, institutional, affective, and social conditions shaping Turkish language education between 2014 and 2025. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 72 peer‐reviewed empirical studies identified through TRDizin, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science were selected and analyzed. The studies were systematically coded for study characteristics and thematic dimensions. The findings indicate that Turkish language learning is not merely an individual process, but a relational, context‐dependent process shaped by pedagogical practices, teacher agency, social ecology, institutional conditions, and access to linguistic capital. The review identifies a segregation paradox whereby structural inclusion through school enrolment or integration classes does not necessarily foster meaningful interaction with host‐community peers. It also reveals a persistent gap between everyday communicative competence and the academic language proficiency required for participation in education and employment. By synthesizing these patterns, the review advances an ecological understanding of migrant language education and highlights the need for longitudinal and comparative research on non‐Syrian migrant groups, expressive language development, and the psychosocial dimensions of Turkish language learning.
ABSTRACT This study reports a case study on the development of a pre‐service second language (L2) Chinese teacher's knowledge and skills in teaching pragmatics through a 15‐week professional development (PD) course. From a sociocultural perspective, the course was designed to (a) provide the teacher with extensive exposure to academic concepts in pragmatics and instructional pragmatics, (b) engage her in languaging tasks that verbalized her conceptual understanding and fostered conscious reflection, and (c) offer opportunities for her to practically apply her conceptual knowledge. At the beginning and end of the course, the teacher completed questionnaires assessing her knowledge of pragmatics, along with her confidence and ability to teach it. Throughout the course, she participated in five monologic languaging tasks that articulated her conscious understanding of the concepts encountered during training. Toward the end of the course, the teacher had the opportunity to practically apply her conceptual knowledge by creating and presenting a lesson plan. To examine her development of pragmatic conceptual knowledge and skills over time, the study compared her pre‐ and post‐course questionnaire responses, analyzed her verbalized conceptual knowledge through the languaging tasks, and evaluated her lesson plan. The findings indicate the effectiveness of the PD course, as the teacher demonstrated notable improvements in her understanding of pragmatics, her awareness of pragmatic similarities and differences between her first language (L1) and L2, and her confidence and capacity to teach pragmatics. Finally, the study offers recommendations for the effective design of PD courses aimed at enhancing pre‐service L2 teachers’ professional knowledge and skills in pragmatics.
ABSTRACT Science popularization podcasts are valuable resources for EAP instruction because they make academic content more accessible to learners. However, producing high‐quality podcasts is time‐consuming and resource‐intensive, and existing resources may not always align with instructional goals or learners’ needs. NotebookLM, a large language model (LLM)‐based tool, may offer possibilities for generating multimedia materials more efficiently. Yet, little is known about how linguistically comparable such AI‐generated podcasts are to human‐created ones or how prompt design may shape their linguistic complexity for pedagogical use. To address this gap, this study examined the lexical and syntactic complexity of human‐created and NotebookLM‐generated podcasts derived from the same research‐article source texts. Four corpora were analyzed: a corpus of human‐created podcasts from the Nature Podcast series and three corpora of NotebookLM‐generated podcasts produced under different conditions: the default setting (no prompt) and prompts intended to approximate CEFR B1‐ and B2‐level output for EAP instruction. Fourteen indices of lexical and syntactic complexity were analyzed. The findings showed that NotebookLM‐generated podcasts were generally more lexically complex but less syntactically complex than human‐created podcasts. Prompt design also differentiated the linguistic complexity of NotebookLM‐generated output: the B1‐level prompt generally produced less complex output than the B2‐level prompt, while the default setting generated the most challenging materials. Although the prompted outputs were not fully comparable to the human‐created materials, they showed greater similarity on several linguistic features. These findings provide preliminary evidence of NotebookLM's potential for EAP materials development and highlight the importance of prompt design in shaping AI‐generated pedagogical materials.
ABSTRACT Writing emotions critically influence foreign language (FL) acquisition, yet existing research predominantly focuses on the anxiety‐enjoyment dichotomy in English learning contexts, overlooking boredom as a key negative emotion and multilingual learners (e.g., Spanish L3). Concurrently, while FL grit emerges as a pivotal trait for emotional regulation, its interplay with control‐value theory (CVT) in shaping enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom remains empirically unexamined. This study examines the relationship between FL grit and writing emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, boredom) among Spanish L3 learners, drawing on CVT. Bootstrap mediation analysis and psychological network analysis of data from 152 Chinese college Spanish L3 learners revealed that FL grit is directly and positively related to writing enjoyment, while negatively with writing anxiety and writing boredom. Both control and value appraisals partially mediated these relationships, complementing FL grit's positive effects on writing enjoyment and negative effects on negative emotions. Network analysis identified writing enjoyment as the central hub in the network, playing a regulatory and buffering role within the emotional system, and FL grit demonstrated the highest expected influence on writing emotions, signaling its systemic role in reducing negative emotions. Perceived control‐value over writing tasks is positively associated with more favorable emotions during the writing process. The results shed light on strategies to optimize emotional engagement and reduce negative affect in multilingual writing instruction.
ABSTRACT Self‐regulation (SR) plays a central role in instructed language learning, as it enables learners to set goals, monitor progress, and adapt learning behaviour through reflection. We investigate the contribution of two core self‐regulatory processes—performance control (PC) and reflection (R)—to attainment (A) in structure‐focused L2 English and L2 German courses. In the context of our study, these courses are taught to language majors and involve explicit, analytically oriented instruction in language structure, including phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, rather than skills‐focused language teaching. Addressing calls to move beyond self‐report measures, we drew on behavioural indicators of self‐regulation, including engagement in non‐graded Moodle activities and participation in structured reflection tasks. Data was collected longitudinally at four time points over one academic year from 119 learners enrolled in English L2/German L3 ( n = 70) and German L2/English L3 ( n = 49) programmes. Relationships among PC, R, and A were examined using longitudinal linear mixed‐effects models consistent with cyclical accounts of self‐regulated learning. Analyses supported a process‐consistent pattern in which R was associated with PC, while PC predicted A and R showed no direct association with A once PC was included in the model. Importantly, these relationships differed across L2 learning contexts, with PC showing a stronger association with A in L2 German than L2 English. The findings point to the value of linking structured reflection with behavioural engagement in low‐stakes practice, particularly in the L2 German context, rather than treating reflection as an isolated instructional target.
ABSTRACT Although research has increasingly examined individual differences in second language acquisition, less attention has been paid to how specific emotions and engagement change during secondary‐school lessons. This study examined within‐lesson variation in enjoyment, boredom, and engagement, the associations of enjoyment and boredom with engagement, and differences between student and teacher ratings. Participants were 244 Polish students from 19 intact classes and their 19 teachers, with data collected during one English lesson in each class. Students rated enjoyment, boredom, and engagement on a five‐point scale across four 10‐min segments and completed short post‐lesson reports. Teachers provided parallel class‐level ratings and reports. Quantitative data were analyzed using regression models with student‐clustered robust standard errors, time‐period and lesson fixed effects, and a time‐period × lesson interaction where appropriate. Qualitative responses were analyzed thematically. The three variables differed across measurement periods and lesson contexts, and their within‐lesson profiles varied across contexts. Enjoyment was positively and boredom negatively associated with engagement at matched measurement points. Teachers rated engagement and enjoyment higher and boredom lower than students did. Four recurring themes concerned task/activity features, energy and timing constraints, classroom process/structure, and evaluation‐related salience. The findings highlight within‐lesson variation in students’ emotions and engagement and differences between student and teacher ratings.
ABSTRACT This study examines how pre‐service teachers (PSTs) in Hong Kong developed beliefs about translanguaging and how they enacted and negotiated these beliefs during teaching practicums in English‐as‐a‐second‐language (ESL) classrooms. Drawing on reflective diaries and follow‐up interviews with nine PSTs, the study found that PSTs’ beliefs were shaped through ongoing negotiations among competing discourses encountered in teacher education programmes and practicum experiences. Although participants frequently drew on multilingual, multimodal, and semiotic resources to support comprehension and participation, their practices were largely oriented towards pragmatic instructional goals rather than the broader transformative aims associated with translanguaging pedagogy. Importantly, this discrepancy reflected not simply a failure of implementation but the ways in which PSTs exercised agency while navigating institutional constraints and contextual realities. The study contributes to research on translanguaging and teacher education by highlighting the complex relationship among teacher beliefs, classroom practices, and institutional contexts. It also underscores the need for teacher education programmes to support the development of a translanguaging stance and structured opportunities for PSTs to negotiate theory‐practice tensions in multilingual classrooms.
ABSTRACT This study examined the distinct effects of syntax‐focused and meaning‐focused AI‐assisted English learning on learners’ performative and affective outcomes. Drawing on Searle's Chinese Room hypothesis, the study distinguished formal accuracy from meaningful language use to examine whether AI‐supported learning produced uniform or differentiated development. A quasi‐experimental pretest‐posttest design was conducted with 160 non‐English‐major university students assigned to either a syntax‐focused or meaning‐focused condition. Analyses of covariance and mediation models were applied while controlling for prior language mastery and digital literacy. The results showed that AI‐assisted English learning was effective, but its effects differed by instructional orientation. The syntax‐focused condition led to significantly higher syntactic performance, whereas the meaning‐focused condition produced higher meaning‐level performance, social presence, and willingness to communicate. Social presence showed statistically significant indirect associations between learning condition and both meaning‐level performance and willingness to communicate, but not syntactic performance. Because social presence and the outcome variables were measured at the same post‐intervention stage, these mediation findings should be interpreted as statistical rather than definitive causal evidence. These findings indicate that formal correctness and meaningful understanding are related but distinct dimensions of AI‐assisted English learning. The study highlights the importance of aligning AI‐supported instructional design with specific learning goals and suggests that cultivating social presence may be relevant for communicative competence development.
ABSTRACT In English Medium Instruction (EMI) contexts, students face simultaneous linguistic and academic demands. Although psychological capital (PsyCap) has been recognized as an important psychological resource for academic success, less is known about whether its effects depend on students’ academic English literacy (AEL). This study examined the associations between PsyCap dimensions and academic success, and whether these associations varied with students’ AEL in EMI settings. Structural equation modeling showed that hope ( β = 0.16), self‐efficacy ( β = 0.19), and resilience ( β = 0.20) were positively associated with academic success, whereas optimism was not ( β = 0.01). Moderation analyses further indicated that the positive associations of self‐efficacy and resilience with academic success were stronger at higher levels of AEL, while interactions involving hope and optimism were not statistically significant. The findings highlight the dimension‐specific and conditional nature of PsyCap in EMI contexts and underscore the role of AEL as a key enabling factor linking psychological resources to academic success.
ABSTRACT In the field of second language acquisition, the growing emphasis on fostering communicative competence has brought task‐based language learning (TBLT) into the spotlight. Yet, empirical studies on TBLT with young novice learners in foreign language settings are notably lacking due to several factors associated with the cognitive and social‐emotional characteristics of young novice learners. To address these challenges, the cognitive sustainability framework was proposed; TBLT for this population of learners should be structured as a sequence of interconnected tasks culminating in a personally relevant end‐product, requiring multiple sessions to complete. This approach allows for systematic integration of progressively complex targeted vocabulary and syntax. Empirical validation of this framework was undertaken through a quasi‐experimental intervention study involving young novice Korean‐speaking learners of English. Results from repeated multivariate analyses of variance provide substantial support for the cognitive sustainability theory and shed light on crucial elements of TBLT overlooked in previous research.
ABSTRACT This case study investigated the lived experiences of 10 IELTS test‐takers from Bangladesh. It explored their motivations for taking the test as well as their test experiences during and after the test. It demonstrates how the participants sought to position themselves in the imagined community through renegotiating their identities to climb up the ladder of success through higher studies by taking IELTS. However, not all participants’ dreams to live in a globalized world could come true either due to visa rejection or refusal of admission from universities. The study also reveals challenges that these test‐takers faced during the test because it was unrelated to their education system, raising questions around whether tests can be distanced from test‐takers’ lives and realities. This study argues for a global test that not only measures English proficiency authentically but also aligns with the education system that test‐takers are familiar with.
ABSTRACT Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is an important emotional variable affecting language learning. However, previous research has mainly focused on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Less attention is given to the Chinese character writing system and its emotional impact. This study investigates the effects of typing and handwriting on FLA and learning performance among zero‐proficiency Chinese learners from Myanmar in an online learning context. Adopting an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design, the research analyzes differences between the two groups through questionnaires, tests, and interviews. The results indicate that the writing medium significantly influences both the level and function of anxiety. Typing generated higher levels of anxiety, and this anxiety was associated with increased concentration and learning engagement. In contrast, handwriting is associated with lower levels of anxiety. However, this anxiety is more likely to be debilitating, reducing learners’ confidence and performance. This study reveals the context‐dependent feature of FLA and demonstrates how writing modalities may modulate its facilitative or debilitating effects. These findings expand FLA theory in non‐alphabetic language learning and digital teaching environments.
ABSTRACT As virtual study abroad becomes an increasingly important form of international education, little is known about how transnational teaching is organised and sustained across institutions. Using activity theory as an analytical framework and team ethnography as methodology, this study examines a virtual intensive study (VIS) programme delivered through collaboration between home‐ and host‐country teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The dataset consists of four lesson recordings, 10 student interviews, two teacher focus group interviews, 21 sets of field notes and programme artefacts. The findings show that VIS generated educational, personal and social benefits and enhanced student engagement, speaking confidence and intercultural awareness. The virtual format broadened access and inclusivity and created opportunities for meaningful language use. The study also identifies systematic tension across the activity system. Interpreted as contradictions, these tensions both constrained and stimulated programme development. The concept of knotworking further illuminates how participants responded through distributed coordination, continually negotiated roles, reconfigured teacher agency across institutional and geographical boundaries, and creatively mobilised resources to sustain learning. The study extends research on virtual exchange and study abroad by shifting attention from learner outcomes to the organisational dynamics of transnational teaching. It argues that the effectiveness of virtual international education depends less on technological affordances than on the design, coordination and institutional support of the activity system. These findings position VIS not simply as a substitute for physical mobility, but as a distinctive model of inclusive and distributed international language education.
ABSTRACT This study investigated the impact of a metacognitive instruction (MI) intervention on EFL writers’ metacognition, feedback uptake, and revision performance in a Generative AI (GenAI)‐assisted feedback environment. The MI intervention integrated prompt engineering into EFL writing pedagogy following a four‐step MI sequence. Participants were 141 EFL learners recruited from a Chinese university, with 71 allocated to the experimental group (EG), which received the MI intervention, and 70 assigned to the control group (CG), which engaged with GenAI feedback without additional scaffolding. Following a pretest–posttest quasi‐experimental design, data were collected from multiple sources, including questionnaires, reflective journals, think‐aloud protocols, and draft and revised writing products. Results showed that the MI intervention significantly improved students’ strategy knowledge and all dimensions of metacognitive strategy use. EG participants demonstrated more elaborate uptake of GenAI feedback on global writing issues. Moreover, the EG achieved greater feedback‐informed revision gains in content and organization, with no significant differences observed in grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. This study has important pedagogical implications for designing and implementing situated metacognitive scaffolding to support EFL writers’ critical and effective engagement with GenAI‐assisted feedback.
