Although essential for teachers'professional development, developing content knowledge (CK) remains a challenge in pre-service language teacher education, where applied linguistics concepts are often perceived as disconnected from practice. While research on technology integration emphasizes pedagogical or technological knowledge (TK), little is known about how emerging tools can mediate CK development. Thus, this study implemented a design-based learning project: 23 pre-service English teachers used generative AI (GenAI) and the metaverse to design their brands and 3D showrooms, applying applied linguistics concepts. Reflective journals and semi-structured interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis to explore how CK developed through TK and learner agency. The findings show that their CK was enhanced when applied linguistics knowledge was used to craft brands and showrooms through iterative design cycles. Agency mediated this process, as they calibrated the outputs and collaborated through distributed agency, using GenAI and metaverse affordances. Finally, reflective inquiry enhanced critical AI literacy, which supported CK development by prompting participants to work on GenAI-mediated decisions (e.g., reliability, bias, authorship, and inclusion) while designing their artefacts. The study discusses theoretical implications for affordance-agency mechanisms in technology-mediated learning and pedagogical implications for integrating GenAI-metaverse design and critical AI literacy in teacher education.
While previous studies have highlighted the significant roles of both social and emotional factors in shaping learners' behavioral intention, relatively few have examined how these factors interact across diverse second or foreign language (L2) learning environments. To fill in the existing gap, this study examined the relationship between L2 belongingness, personal L2 enjoyment, and willingness to communicate (WTC) in both in-person and online classes. Data from 293 first-year Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) university students were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that students with higher academic and social belongingness reported higher WTC in both settings. Additionally, L2 enjoyment moderated this relationship. The findings demonstrate how external factors—teacher and peer support, coupled with an internal emotional state—personal enjoyment—drives EFL learners’ communication willingness in different L2 learning contexts. The findings highlight the importance of creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment where educators foster connections among students and between students and teachers in face-to-face and online language classes. Incorporating enjoyable and engaging L2 activities is also recommended to boost students' communication willingness in different L2 learning contexts.
Virtual Exchange (VE) has been gaining popularity amongst Foreign Language (FL) teachers as it allows students the opportunity to use the FL they are studying in real-world situations with peers around the world. While VE allows for extensive language production and the development of intercultural competence, the assessment of these aspects within VE poses significant challenges for teachers. Through the use of a qualitative descriptive design, this paper examines the assessment path eight teachers from six countries took as their students participated in a VE. It outlines the reasoning behind the assessment designs they chose, how they implemented them, the challenges they faced and the manner in which they overcame them. The teachers were surveyed and interviewed before and after participating in an eight-week, mainly asynchronous VE. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and then thematically analyzed as were the open-ended survey questions. Results show objectives of developing communicative and intercultural competence were major considerations when designing and implementing assessment of student participation in the VE. Most participants favored formative approaches and incorporated both quantitative and qualitative assessment to encourage intercultural communication. Analysis resulted in recommendations to help practitioners enhance their assessment of students’ participation in VE.
This paper examines how pronunciation instruction is enacted in online Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) within Municipal Adult Education (MAE). Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), classroom observations and teacher interviews trace how human and non-human actors (e.g., teachers, students, platforms, cameras, microphones, recordings) shape instruction. Five analytic scenes show that: (1) close-up camera/microphone affordances amplify articulatory modeling; (2) prosody practice becomes an auditory, distributed activity coordinated via audio files and chat functions; (3) corrective feedback is configured by one-speaker-at-a-time interfaces and headphone listening; (4) assessment is redistributed over time; and (5) domestic soundscapes and connectivity contingencies unevenly condition what is hearable and assessable. In the paper, pedagogical implications grounded in these scene-based analyses are articulated. Pronunciation instruction is thus shown to emerge as a sociomaterialpractice, enacted through the actors and infrastructures of the online classroom.
This study investigates dynamic fluctuations in willingness to communicate (WTC) and emotional states among six Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners during interactions with Replika, an AI-powered chatbot. Using an idiodynamic method and stimulated recall interviews, the study provides a granular understanding of WTC and emotional dynamics. Participants exhibited a range of emotional states, including epistemic and retrospective emotions, which were intermittently elicited by moment-tomoment interactional events. Fluctuations were induced by various factors, including anthropomorphism, conversational responsiveness, perceived naturalness of interaction, and learners' perceptions of Replika as either a conversational companion or a tool for language practice. Finally, this study proposes expectation appraisal as a key mediating mechanism between interactional factors, emotional states, and WTC. Learners' expectations constituted a significant factor influencing emotional outcomes and ongoing WTC. These findings are discussed with reference to the L2 WTC pyramid model, emphasizing the interplay between emotions and communicative behaviors in AI-mediated language-learning environments.
