The introduction of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has created new opportunities to support L2 speaking instruction and development. However, empirical evidence is needed to establish its pedagogic value in higher education contexts, particularly for cognitively demanding second-language (L2) speaking tasks. This study investigates the effects of ChatGPT-mediated instruction on the use of oral communication strategies (OCSs) and discourse markers (DMs) during an academic debate session. Using a quasi-experimental design, a total of 56 Hungarian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates were assigned to two instructional conditions: a GenAI-assisted experimental group and a non-GenAI-assisted control group. Data were collected through a posttest debate task and analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results indicated significant differences in the deployment of OCSs and DMs between the two instructional conditions. In particular, our analysis revealed an interesting contrast between the strong focus on fluency-maintenance and discourse-organisational devices in the control group as opposed to the preponderance of direct-interactional strategies alongside a wide range of DMs in the experimental group. The findings suggest a potentially beneficial role for ChatGPT-mediated instruction in the development of strategic competence and discourse-level awareness. These GenAI affordances, however, presuppose careful teacher mediation within a progressive instructional design that moves from AI-supported rehearsal to peer- and group-based interaction.
Although feedback is widely regarded as one of the most influential variables in student learning, its effects on writing development remain highly variable and poorly understood, partly because the relational dimensions of feedback delivery have received limited empirical attention. This quasi-experimental, explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined whether an Empathic Feedback Protocol (EFP), operationalising teacher empathy through three theoretically grounded dimensions (Seeing, Understanding, and Caring), produces superior outcomes in writing quality, self-efficacy, and feedback receptivity compared to conventional rubric-based feedback. Post Foundation undergraduate students in a Technical Writing course at a university in Oman were assigned to experimental or comparison conditions across an eight-week email writing programme. Writing quality was assessed using an institutional rubric; self-efficacy and receptivity were measured at three time points using validated scales; and student perceptions of feedback empathy were assessed using the EFRS-S, an instrument developed for this study. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and written reflections were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis and integrated with quantitative findings via joint display. Results indicated large condition effects on writing quality, with the greatest gains on higher-order criteria. Self-efficacy and feedback receptivity trajectories diverged significantly across conditions after the midpoint, with the experimental group sustaining growth while the comparison group plateaued. Hierarchical regression revealed a theoretically meaningful dissociation: Understanding was the dominant predictor of writing quality, while Caring predicted motivational outcomes. Qualitative themes corroborated these patterns and surfaced an emergent metacognitive transfer effect, with students spontaneously applying the EFP framework as a self-monitoring strategy during drafting. Findings suggest that teacher empathy, when systematically operationalised, is a consequential and teachable pedagogical variable with direct implications for feedback practice in EFL technical writing contexts.
The present study investigates the relationship between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates' use of AI-generated self-assessment (AIGSA) and their reported metacognitive skill development. A survey was administered to examine the perceptions of 242 EFL students in Saudi Arabia and Yemen regarding AIGSA and to assess their perceptions of the validity of AIGSA in comparison with instructors' assessments. The quantitative results indicated that EFL students have a high perception of the use of AIGSA in their learning (M = 3.97, SD = .622). The study also revealed a moderate positive correlation between the perceived use of AIGSA and the reported development of EFL students' metacognitive skills (r = .432). The analysis revealed that nationality exerted a significant role in students' perception, where Saudi EFL students reported a higher perception (M = 4.05) than their Yemeni counterparts (M = 3.89, Z = 2.166, p = .001). Moreover, the thematic analysis indicated that AIGSA supports learners' self-monitoring and regulation through accessible, detailed, and low-pressure feedback, while its perceived validity remains contextual and complementary to teacher assessment. By foregrounding learners' evaluative knowledge and trust in feedback sources, this study offers novel insights into how AIGSA functions as a metacognitive scaffold rather than a substitute for teacher feedback.
Intensive foreign language programs may place strong psychological demands on students and may increase the risk of academic burnout. Mindfulness has often been examined as a learner resource associated with lower distress, but less is known about how specific socio-cognitive patterns of attention and engagement relate to burnout in intensive Arabic learning in higher education. This study examined the relationships between three socio-cognitive mindfulness facets, unmindful disengagement, novelty producing, and novelty seeking, and four burnout dimensions, academic efficacy, cynicism, disengagement, and exhaustion. Participants were 176 international scholarship students enrolled in a two-year intensive Arabic program at a Saudi public university. Data were collected using a survey. The model was tested using generalized structured component analysis. The results suggest that novelty seeking was the most consistent correlate of a lower burnout profile. Higher novelty seeking was associated with higher academic efficacy and lower cynicism, disengagement, and exhaustion. Unmindful disengagement showed the opposite pattern. It was linked to higher cynicism, disengagement, and exhaustion, but it was not significantly related to academic efficacy. Novelty producing did not show significant unique associations with any burnout dimension once the other mindfulness facets were included. These findings suggest that students’ curiosity and active exploration of Arabic learning opportunities were more consistently associated with burnout dimensions than creative production alone in this sample. These findings identify novelty seeking and unmindful disengagement as concurrent correlates of burnout dimensions in this sample. Longitudinal and instructional research is needed to test whether practices that encourage noticing, exploration, and sustained attention are followed by changes in burnout.
This error analysis aimed to investigate Vietnamese university students' written grammatical accuracy in EFL writing, given the crucial role of verbs and their intricate morphosyntactic features (Huddleston & Pullum, 2002). However, systematic investigation into morphosyntactic verb errors and their causes remains limited. To address this gap, the study aimed to: (a) identify the types and frequency of morphosyntactic verb errors made by elementary-level EFL undergraduates, and (b) examine their causative factors. The researchers conducted an error analysis of 224 compositions written by EFL undergraduates at a university in Vietnam. The findings showed that misformation errors were the most prevalent, followed by omission and addition, while misordering was least common. Most errors stemmed from intralingual factors, with false concept hypothesis as the primary source, though interlingual transfer also exerted a notable influence. The findings partially align with previous research, likely due to differences in study scope, writing genres, and participant characteristics. The insights suggest that teachers should implement targeted, rule-based activities (e.g., tense drills, verb correction tasks, and coded feedback) to improve learners' control of morphosyntactic verbs. They also highlight the need for more robust research designs to better capture learner performance and contextual influences on error production.
