Using a mixed-method approach, this study investigates the potential impact of the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools on the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers. Over a 30-week period of instruction, quantitative data from the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) revealed a statistically significant increase in participants’ sense of self-efficacy. Qualitative data from interviews highlighted benefits such as enhanced instructional confidence, expanded pedagogical repertoires, improved feedback practices, and the fostering of reflective practices. However, there also emerged a number of challenges, including the risk of over-reliance on AI, potentially undermining critical engagement, constraining originality, and creating identity-related tensions. The findings suggest that while the integration of AI tools demonstrates huge potential, teacher education programs must prioritise critical engagement with AI outputs and design-based learning to ensure teachers retain agency and promote responsible AI use in education.
This pilot study adopts an exploratory mixed-methods design to examine the interpretive challenges posed by English analytical terms for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), with particular emphasis on semantic transparency and opacity. Integrating descriptive quantitative assessment with qualitative inquiry, the study explores how lexical phenomena such as polysemy, synonymy, and homonymy affect learners’ comprehension of domain-specific terminology in the field of migration and asylum. A sample of fifteen B2-level EFL learners completed a contextualized test of analytical terms and participated in semi-structured interviews designed to elicit their interpretive strategies. Given the exploratory nature of the study and its limited sample size, the findings are not intended for broad generalization but rather to inform future large-scale research. The results indicate that semantic opacity significantly impedes accurate interpretation, with participants demonstrating a marked reliance on literal, compositional processing rather than context-driven inferencing. Furthermore, learners reported a need for enhanced contextual support when engaging with specialized terminology. The findings suggest important pedagogical implications, particularly regarding the integration of AI-assisted tools, such as corpus-based resources and terminology management systems, to support vocabulary acquisition in specialized domains. Although the effectiveness of such tools was not empirically evaluated in this study, the research offers an initial contribution to understanding the multidimensional nature of terminological competence in EFL contexts and outlines potential directions for future investigation, including the role of AI-driven technologies in specialized vocabulary instruction.
Scott Jarvis is the Stoller-Grabe Endowed Distinguished Chair in Applied Linguistics at Northern Arizona University, and he currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Language Learning. His main areas of research are crosslinguistic influence, lexical diversity, and forensic linguistics, and across these areas he has played a leading role in shaping several new strands of inquiry. He is one of the principal architects of the study of conceptual transfer—crosslinguistic influence arising from language-specific concepts and patterns of conceptualization—which he developed across a body of work beginning with his 1998 book Conceptual Transfer in the Interlingual Lexicon and his 2008 volume Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition (with Aneta Pavlenko), and continuing through subsequent work clarifying the construct’s scope and theoretical foundations. He has likewise been instrumental in establishing text-analytic and detection-based approaches to the study of language transfer—including native language identification and text classification, as presented in his 2012 edited volume Approaching Language Transfer through Text Classification—and in advancing the modeling and measurement of lexical diversity as a multidimensional construct grounded in human judgments. His recent research has, inter alia, investigated conceptual transfer and the comprehension and comprehensibility of legal language, particularly non-native speakers’ understanding of their Miranda rights. Professor Jarvis has authored or edited six books and edited volumes and published more than seventy journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. Alongside his current editorship of Language Learning, he has served the journal as Executive Director, and has held leadership roles in the field, including Treasurer of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and co-convener of the AILA Research Network on Crosslinguistic Influence. Additionally, he has served on numerous editorial boards. His contributions have earned recognition including the 2021 AAAL Research Article Award—for his co-authored study of native and non-native speakers’ understanding of their Miranda rights—and an honorary doctorate from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Children begin school having already acquired a wide range of skills related to oral language, phonological awareness, print conventions, and letter knowledge. These emergent skills are closely associated with children’s home literacy-related experiences and are strong precursors of L1 reading development. This experimental research examined whether this participation in literacy events can support second language acquisition to prepare young learners of English for L2 literacy and reading development. It involved two groups of nine seven-year-old learners each: a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group was exposed to carefully selected English print storybooks, chosen for their potential to foster literacy skills, in a home-like environment without formal L2 instruction. The study’s methodology compared the development of emergent skills and L2 reading ability across both groups. Despite varied reading outcomes, all participants in the experimental group developed significant emergent subskills, foundational to reading and beneficial for L2 development and cognitive growth. These results underline the importance of integrating rich English print materials into early L2 learning environments, offering practical insights for educators to enhance young learners’ literacy and reading skills.
Motivation has been extensively researched in second/foreign language (L2) learning, yet its impact on pragmatics acquisition remains underexplored. This nine-week mixed-methods study aimed to address this gap by examining how motivation to learn L2 pragmatic features fluctuates over time whilst identifying factors that may influence these changes. Thirty-seven Czech secondary school learners of English participated, completing a trait motivation questionnaire before and after instruction. Additional data were collected through follow-up interviews and motometers during lessons on suggestion-making. The findings confirmed the dynamics and multidimensionality of motivation, shaped by individual factors, classroom activities, teaching methods, and the relevance of pragmatic content. Motivation varied significantly within and between lessons, driven by both internal and external stimuli. As learners developed a deeper understanding of pragmatics, their motivation increased, enhancing their ability to use English appropriately. The study concludes with recommendations for L2 teaching practices and future research on motivation in pragmatics learning.
