This study examined students' perceptions and attitudes towards generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in language learning, particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing. Employing a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 399 Saudi university EFL students to assess self-reported associations between AI chatbots and writing-related attitudes. The findings indicate that these chatbots were associated with increased self-efficacy, satisfaction and behavioural intention among participants. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction and self-efficacy, moderate levels of AI writing strategies (operationalised usefulness) and strong intention to reuse. The structural equation model results showed that AI writing strategies were significantly associated with satisfaction (8 = .784), self-efficacy (8 = .525) and behavioural intention (8 = .353), where satisfaction and self-efficacy served as mediators of the strategies-intention relationship. These findings highlight the potential of AI to support confidence, develop attitudes and possibly grow skills for second language writing, particularly with younger people who are familiar with technology. Because outcomes were cross-sectional and self-reported, these estimates represent associations that should not be viewed as causal effects. The findings indicate the promise of AI to cultivate students' confidence and positive attitudes towards second language writing, especially when working with younger university learners with a high level of digital exposure. Implications for practice or policy: center dot Universities should integrate approved generative AI into writing centres and language labs with short disclosures and reflective rationales. center dot Departments should design assessments and modules on permitted, ethical and non-coercive AI uses such as brainstorming, vocabulary and revisions. center dot Low-stakes AI-assisted practice should be encouraged, while high-stakes assessments remain under instructor control. center dot Institutions should publish course-level AI policies outlining permitted and forbidden uses, disclosure requirements, privacy considerations and integrity standards.

This study explores the integration of generative AI (GAI) tools in second language acquisition (SLA) through an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Focusing on Saudi and Korean English language learners (ELLs), it examines the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived benefits, and actual use (i.e., task-based behavior) of GAI in English foreign language (EFL) learning. While perceived usefulness captures the functional utility of GAI tools for specific language learning tasks, perceived benefits encompass broader educational outcomes, including enhanced language proficiency, greater academic support, and increased learner confidence. Data were collected from 681 participants (407 Saudi, 274 Korean) and analyzed using mean scores, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The model demonstrated a satisfactory fit, explaining 79% of the variance in actual use, with the model accounting for 70% of the variance in perceived benefits. Comparing models with and without perceived benefits revealed a 6% increase in explained variance ( ΔR 2 = .06). Cross-cultural differences emerged in learner perceptions and adoption intentions, providing a deeper understanding of how students engage with GAI tools in language learning contexts. These findings offer practical insights for the effective integration of AI in SLA settings.

Objectives This study aimed to (1) develop a new measure of adherence to exercise for musculoskeletal (MSK) pain (Adherence To Exercise for Musculoskeletal Pain Tool: ATEMPT) based on previously conceptualised domains of exercise adherence, (2) report the content and structural validity, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and measurement error for the ATEMPT outcome measure in patients managed with exercise for MSK pain. Methods ATEMPT was created using statements describing adherence generated by patients, physiotherapists and researchers, with content validity established. Baseline and retest questionnaires were distributed to patients recommended exercise for MSK pain in 11 National Health Service physiotherapy clinics. Items demonstrating low response variation were removed and the following measurement properties assessed: structural validity, internal consistency, test–retest reliability and measurement error. Results Baseline and retest data were collected from 382 and 112 patients with MSK pain, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis established that a single factor solution was the best fit according to Bayesian Information Criterion. The 6-item version of the measure (scored 6–30) demonstrated optimal internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha 0.86, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.88) with acceptable levels of test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.84, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.88) and measurement error (smallest detectable change 3.77, 95% CI 3.27 to 4.42) (SE of measurement 2.67, 95% CI 2.31 to 3.16). Conclusion The 6-item ATEMPT was developed from the six domains of exercise adherence. It has adequate content and structural validity, internal consistency, test–retest reliability and measurement error in patients with MSK pain, but should undergo additional testing to establish the construct validity and responsiveness.

Faced with ever-growing climate-related financial risks, the role of central banks in climate governance has intensified debates surrounding central bank independence (CBI). Informed by elite interviews with UK monetary policy experts and a discourse analysis of Bank of England reports, this article reveals the internal views on repoliticisation of the Bank and CBI catalysed by the mandate to 'facilitate the transition to net zero'. We find different interpretations of CBI that are shaped by perceptions of the Bank's existing political status, with some claiming that the Bank is intrinsically apolitical and immune to repoliticisation and others viewing CBI as fragile or a strategically-deployed discourse. Across three distinct views of politics, and by extensions CBI, we identify dual dynamics of depoliticisation and re-politicisation that serve to legitimate and depoliticise prior mission creep whilst simultaneously licencing politicising debates on the bank's institutional evolution. We demonstrate that the Bank of England is an indispensable case study in the green central banking literature for understanding the political economy of CBI within the context of climate change.

The role of central banks in perpetuating and tackling the economic patterns associated with climate change has increasingly been subject to academic and political attention. The Bank of England is no exception, having received a new mandate to ‘facilitate the transition to net zero’ in March 2021. This follows the Bank’s utilisation of its monetary tools to repeatedly stabilise the economic status quo since 2008, despite its ecological consequences. This article reveals the perceptions within the British state of the new mandate and the forms of institutional change demanded by it, based on a series of elite interviews with Treasury officials and other UK monetary policy experts, as well as a discourse analysis of Bank publications and speeches. We find that Bank actors lobbied for the new mandate to legitimise its development of climate risk assessments and licence internal dialogue on the implications of its monetary policy. But the mandate is perceived to be in immediate conflict with, and subservient to, the Bank’s primary structural objective of maintaining price and financial stability, due to the potentially destabilising effects of private capital realignment during a net zero transition. Institutional change within the Bank is thus limited to extending its pre-existing function of mitigating risks to financial stability rather than facilitating decarbonisation through market-shaping governance of the financial sector.

The fallout from the Afghan war led to a wave of refugees fleeing to other countries, with many of those being youth. The current paper explores the experiences and perceptions of educators who assist Afghan refugee youth during their transition to life in the United States. A phenomenological research design was used to examine how educators describe their experiences working with Afghan refugee youth as well as the perceived academic and social needs when teaching Afghan refugee youth. Additionally, this study provides insight into the English language experiences of Afghan refugee youth. Participants had the option to complete an open-ended survey or be interviewed. Data analysis centred on the thematic coding of dominant responses. The primary highlights and challenges of working with Afghan refugee youth are described, and the major academic and social needs of Afghan refugee youth are discussed. Finally, implications emanating from emerging themes are provided.

This study explores how instructors view the current state of English medium instruction (EMI) in terms of the existence of EMI engineering courses, how EMI influences instructor motivations, and how motivation constructs influence the intrinsic motivation to teach EMI courses. Explanatory variables regarding intrinsic motivations included the use of the Korean language (L1) when teaching EMI courses, EMI teacher self-efficacy, EMI teacher anxiety, and perceived student benefits for English acquisition when attending EMI courses. The influence of demographic variables (i.e., age, teaching experience, experience living overseas, and second-language proficiency) on intrinsic motivation was also identified. Ultimately, a cross-sectional research design was conducted with a group of 54 engineering professors at a South Korean university. Mean score and correlation analyses provided an initial view of the data. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the explanatory variables’ influence on the intrinsic motivation to teach EMI courses. Several significant relationships in the model were identified. The results showed that the surveyed professors have high self-efficacy in teaching EMI courses, which corresponds with low anxiety levels. Furthermore, the professors reported the frequent and varied strategic use of their first language, L1 (i.e., Korean), when teaching EMI courses. Generally, professors with low self-efficacy in their English will use their own language (L1) more frequently than their more confident counterparts. Self-efficacy, anxiety, and the perceived benefits for students were significant predictors of their intrinsic motivation to teach EMI courses. The pedagogical implications are briefly discussed, and methods for preparing the EMI course instructors are recommended.

This paper explores the local impact of various forms of fiscal and monetary support for UK-based companies in the context of disruption caused by COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions, including support for household incomes (and therefore private consumption) via the ‘furlough’ scheme, the Covid Corporate Financing Facility and various national and local business support schemes. It shows that the economic crisis associated with the pandemic has been construed to justify interventions that preserve the spatially uneven status quo of the UK’s model of economic development, protecting business from harms arising, apparently, from the public’s reaction to the pandemic. To some extent, COVID-19 has been treated as a localised phenomenon that the national economy requires protection from.

Normative grading compounded with socio-educational conditions in East Asian countries amplifies the effect competition beliefs have on learning outcomes. Competition beliefs may be especially influential in videoconference courses since some students feel reluctant to interrupt the instructor, avoid talking over others, or dominate the class conversation. This study investigates how instrumental motivation relates to competitiveness and how that relationship influences foreign language (FL) anxiety and learning outcome beliefs among students attending video conference EFL courses. To this end, structural equation modeling was used to model the relationships between instrumental motivation, academic competitiveness, FL performance anxiety, and learning outcome beliefs. Further, the indirect effect of academic competitiveness and FL anxiety was identified. A cross-sectional survey design for a mediation analysis was implemented among 318 South Korean EFL students attending classes taught remotely that combine videoconference and learning management system (LMS) features. Results indicate that South Korean university students have high levels of instrumental motivation to learn English. Further, instrumental motivation had a positive relationship with FL performance anxiety, indicating feelings of anxiousness among motivated students in South Korea's competitive learning environment. This positive relationship vanished when academic competitiveness was added to the model, indicating full mediation when accounting for confidence in outcompeting classmates. Lastly, negative mediation on learning outcome beliefs was observed with increasing levels of FL performance anxiety. Highly competitive students are prone to the negative consequences of FL performance anxiety, which negatively influences perceived learning outcomes. These findings along with pedagogical implications are discussed.

The current cross-sectional study examined the preferred and perceived use of various videoconferencing activities in a learning management system among 96 South Korean students, and how these preferences and perceptions related to their language proficiency gains as measured by pre- and post-course testing. Next, the relationships among preferred activity choice, perceived benefits, perceived difficulties, and L2 proficiency gains were identified. Finally, multiple linear regression was used to identify how the study's variables influence L2 proficiency change. Findings were consistent with language learning strategy theory in that students with a wider preference for speaking activities scored significantly higher on their post-course L2 proficiency test than students who preferred fewer types of activities. Regression analysis found that an increasing preference for speaking activities influenced L2 proficiency change, but preference for writing activities and perceived difficulties did not. This study calls for more investigations and suggests recommendations to allow successful transformative teaching and learning development.

Background: Language learners are taking advantage of the increased accuracy afforded by machine translation (MT) tools like Google Translate. There is a growing debate as to whether these tools support or hinder English as a foreign language (EFL) education. Some EFL students are drawn to MT tools to save time and energy when communicating, but how this use relates to second language acquisition needs to be clarified.Objective: This study investigated the perceptions and practices of MT tools among university EFL students in Saudi Arabia and South Korea.Methods: The study surveyed Saudi (n = 310) and South Korean (n = 160) university students to explore the use of MT tools in EFL learning. It used mean scores, correlation analysis, and structural equation modelling to understand the perceived benefits and limitations of MT tools and their influence on the use of translation websites. The findings were triangulated using content analysis of open-ended items.Results and Conclusion: Findings indicate students showed a high level of acceptance and utilization of MT tools. English avoidance behaviour (B = 0.43), benefits (B = 0.32), and foreign language proficiency (B = -0.19) predicted 61% of actual use of MT tools like Google Translate. Further, students frequently used MT tools despite the reported concerns about accuracy mistakes. Saudi students listed a more comprehensive array of why they use MT tools than Korean students, while Saudis and Koreans frequently used MT tools for individual word and sentence translations.Implications: Students should edit MT output when writing and are encouraged to use the voice recording and other functions of MT tools to learn language skills. Instructors must prevent overuse and dependency on MT tools, especially among low-proficiency students who want to avoid using English.

Understanding how second language proficiency and other key learner characteristics relate to language learning anxiety subcomponents can help inform the type and quantity of content instructors approach foreign language (FL) students with when teaching English. This study seeks to understand how FL proficiency (i.e., TOEIC reading, TOEIC listening, and self-reported), FL study experience, and gender influence levels of foreign language classroom anxiety and second language writing anxiety. To accomplish the research goals, 245 students completed a questionnaire measuring foreign language classroom anxiety and second language writing anxiety. Three hierarchical linear regressions were used to test the study's models, and structural equation modeling was used to confirm and illustrate the observed relationships. Overall, self-reported FL proficiency was a stronger predictor of anxiety than actual FL proficiency. Findings further indicate that FL listening and self-reported proficiency significantly negatively correlate with FL speaking anxiety but not writing anxiety. Only FL reading proficiency significantly influenced FL writing anxiety; however, this relationship disappeared when self-reported FL proficiency was added to the model. Further, differences in how FL proficiency influences FL anxiety when controlling for years of experience studying EFL and gender are discussed. Recommendations on how instructors can approach language instruction to assist highly anxious students in the EFL context are also discussed.

Machine translation (MT) practice and activity development in education are possible when students with diverse backgrounds contribute to helping define how MT can best be used for language learning. This study employed a questionnaire based on an adapted version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to gain perspective on the perceptions, attitudes, and use of MT tools like Google Translate among Saudi and Korean university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). A total of 470 students were recruited from Saudi Arabia and South Korea to complete a questionnaire measuring scales on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, actual use, and intended future use of MT websites. Structural equation modeling analyzed the relationships among the TAM variables. Results found that Saudi and Korean students both reported high levels on the TAM variables, indicating that translation tools were easy to use and useful for studying language. Lower L2 proficiency correlated with greater perceived usefulness and a more positive attitude. Students frequently use MT tools when learning English and plan to continue using them in the future. The model explained 71% of actual use and 42% of behavioral intention to use MT for language learning. Furthermore, Saudi students reported a slightly easier time using MT tools for language learning, while Korean students planned to use MT more often. Other findings, along with practical applications, are presented in this paper.

The environmental impacts of monetary policy received academic attention after the 2008 financial crisis and the 'market neutral' quantitative easing policies that followed. This article examines the Bank of England's Corporate Covid Financing Facility (CCFF) and the Asset Purchasing Facility (APF) between June 2020 and June 2021 to assess whether the Bank's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was aligned with the transition to sustainability. The data indicates that the Bank of England's monetary allocation schemes again served as a panacea for businesses with ecologically intensive business models and a Treasury committed to restoring the pre-existing growth model. Indeed, the Bank's QE schemes now represents an element of the crisis management governance that repeatedly 'locks in' the ecologically-calamitous economic trajectory at potential critical junctures. The Bank's shielding of its technocratic and depoliticised status has thus far inhibited any leadership role in tackling the climate crisis, despite its growing power as an actor of economic governance at times of crisis and purported enthusiasm to 'build back better'.

Reflection occurs as a learning process in which thoughts are consequential and continuously improved upon. The current research examined teacher reflection by examining the influence of multilingualism and professional development activities on teacher reflection levels. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS employing 226 male and 207 female EFL instructors teaching in Saudi Arabia. Variables were grouped into languages spoken and professional development activities. Inferential statistics (i.e., descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA) were utilized. The findings revealed that reflective practices varied significantly due to the languages spoken. The mean of the total English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) for participants who performed the professional development activity is higher than for those who did not. Further, participants who collaborated with colleagues were mentored, self-studied, and took courses illustrated a significantly higher total score on the ELTRI. When designing professional development curricula, a greater focus on particular reflection training should be more appropriate depending on completed professional benchmarks. These implications and the future direction of this study highlight the dynamic influence of multilingualism in reflective practices. Henceforward, the study suggests the imperative need to provide teachers with professional development programs for training them and elevate their awareness of the effectiveness of reflective teaching practices.

BACKGROUND The concept of adherence to exercise for musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is poorly defined and inadequately measured. This study aimed to, (1) conceptualise adherence to exercise therapy for MSK pain, and (2) identify statements most representative of the new conceptualisation that could be developed into items for a new measurement tool. METHODS Concept mapping methodology was used, which is an integrated mixed methods approach. Focus groups with stakeholders generated statements describing adherence to exercise for MSK pain. Statements were grouped according to themes and rated for importance. Data analysis via multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis produced a series of concept maps, which were refined during a further stakeholder workshop to produce the final conceptualisation of exercise adherence. Mean importance ratings established statements most suitable for future development. RESULTS Twenty-eight participants produced 100 unique statements concerning adherence, which were sorted and rated. Analysis of the sort data with further participant refinement concluded that adherence to exercise consists of six domains: communication with experts; targets; how exercise is prescribed; patient knowledge and understanding; motivation and support; and psychological approach and attitudes. Fifty-six statements were rated with above average importance for inclusion in a new measure of adherence to exercise for MSK pain. CONCLUSION Adherence to exercise for MSK pain is a complex and multi-dimensional construct represented by six distinct domains. Statements that best represent these domains have been identified by key stakeholders and will inform the development of a new measure of adherence to exercise for MSK pain.

The issue addressed here concerns how second language (L2) speaking strategies mediate the relationship between L2 writing strategies and the social presence component of the community of inquiry (CoI) framework within the context of fully online courses that combined learning management system (LMS) for writing tasks and videoconferencing for live classroom discussion. L2 writing strategies related to planning and reviewing contribute to composing tests that students want to upload, present, and discuss, and this sharing is expected to foster classroom social behaviors and consequent language gains. For the current study, a cross-sectional survey of 256 university students was initiated to investigate the mediating effect L2 speaking strategies have on the relationship between L2 writing strategies and social presence. The results indicated positive path coefficients between review strategies and speaking strategies, review strategies and social presence, planning strategies and speaking strategies, and speaking strategies and social presence. Further, speaking strategies explain the relationship between planning strategies and social presence, indicating full mediation. Partial mediation was found for the path between review strategies and social presence. Recognizing how L2 writing and speaking strategies relate to one another and how that relationship influences a CoI illustrates the interconnectivity between language skills. Evidently, increased attention to planning and reviewing strategies results in a final composition worth sharing and discussing, and such sharing and discussion are building blocks to a vibrant social presence.

This study uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) to help explain how the use of technology influences learning outcomes emanating from engagement with the Zoom video conference platform. To this end, structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among the TAM variables in reference to Zoom taught during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following a cross-sectional research design, data were collected using Davis's TAM (1989) scales including perceived ease of use (PEoU), perceived usefulness (PU), behavioral intentions, and attitude from 321 South Korean university students attending their 10 th week of English as a foreign language (EFL) conversational English classes. Results revealed that seven of the ten proposed hypotheses were confirmed, with path coefficients having small to large effect sizes. Most notably, PEoU with Zoom strongly affected PU and actual use. In addition, PU with Zoom predicted intentions to use Zoom in the future; however, it failed to influence perceived learning outcomes. While PU predicted future use, it did not influence actual use regarding how well students reported their current performance in their video conference course. PEoU with video conference tools was an influential antecedent to usefulness, attitude, and perceived learning outcome. Lastly, two notable instances of mediation through PU occurred. In consideration of findings, students and instructors should be well trained on the use and functionality of video conference software before its implementation in video conference classrooms.

Second language (L2) writing strategies are essential for successful learning outcomes in courses with a substantial writing component and this is especially true during emergency remote teaching (ERT) when online writing tasks help compensate for the missing offline communication. Online writing tasks are multimodal and interactive, and widely delivered through assignment modules, discussion forums, social media, and other online channels, yet little is known pertaining to L2 writing strategies and online writing beliefs. The current study investigates the types of L2 writing strategies students employed during ERT in the midst of Covid-19 and then used structural modeling to understand how strategies relate to online writing task perceptions, L2 writing anxiety, and L2 writing proficiency. The four L2 writing strategy categories are related to planning, monitoring, reviewing, and translating. Following a cross-sectional survey design, a total of 256 South Korean EFL students completed the study's questionnaire administered during their second semester of ERT. Overall, students reported using planning and monitoring strategies the most while using moderate levels of translation and review strategies. Translation strategies produced a significant positive relationship with L2 writing anxiety, indicating effort-avoidance behavior among apprehensive writers. Contrarily, planning and review strategies were positively associated with increased levels of perceived benefits with online writing tasks. When added to the model, the statistically significant correlations among monitoring category and outcome variables vanished, indicating a mediation effect. Along with addressing future directions in L2 writing strategy research in the post-Covid era, some pedagogical implications for the evolving application of translation strategies are discussed.

Learners in videoconference-mediated classrooms are expected to interact regardless of their varied demographic and behavioral characteristics, including susceptibility to foreign language (FL) anxiety. With a focus on apprehension, the present study aimed to better understand the influence students' FL anxiety has on the relationship between learner interactions and academic self-efficacy beliefs. To this end, questionnaire data was collected from 647 South Korean university students attending emergency remote online classes through Zoom's videoconference platform. Structural equation modeling was carried out to identify the mediating effect of FL classroom anxiety on the relationship between academic self-efficacy beliefs and interactions. Findings revealed full mediation on the path coefficient from learner-learner interaction to learning expectations, while no mediation effect was observed between learner-instructor interactions and learning expectations. Increasing levels of learner-learner interactions were associated with increasing FL anxiety, partly explaining the positive path between learner-learner interactions and expected academic performance. Unlike learner-instructor interactions, learner-learner interactions increase communication anxiety, consequently decreasing expected learning outcomes.