With the advent of generative AI that uses large language models such as ChatGPT, it is now relatively easy to provide automated written corrective feedback in a student's native language. This paper reports on an exploratory study using a ChatGPT-powered plugin recently developed for the Moodle learning management system. The classroom…

Research has established positive associations between informal digital activities and vocabulary knowledge. However, understanding how different types of digital activities relate to various aspects of vocabulary knowledge is limited. This study examined how the purpose of informal digital activities and strategic engagement during and/or after…

Background: Introducing new technologies in education sparks debates, disrupting traditional practices, and requiring teacher adaptation. ChatGPT is an example. Research explores its benefits and concerns in education, with recommendations for classroom use. Nevertheless, limited evidence supports ChatGPT as a tool for supporting English as a…

Background/purpose: Artificial intelligence, namely ChatGPT, has garnered significant interest in language education due to its potential to enhance instruction and learning. Three primary topics are highlighted in this study's analysis of recent research on ChatGPT's use in language instruction: Reflection on instruction, instructor feedback, and…

This study examined number marking comprehension among Japanese learners of second language (L2) English, whose first language (L1) does not have an obligatory number marking system. The study conducted an online sentence comprehension experiment with 96 L1-Japanese learners and 32 native speakers of English, wherein participants engaged in a…

This paper attempted to investigate the relationship between English major learners' use of metacognitive strategies of listening to overcome the difficulties they face while learning listening skills at Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU). The data was collected by administering an online Microsoft Form questionnaire to 168 first-year English major…

The emergence of ChatGPT, an OpenAI chatbot, has revolutionised our education system to a new phase. It is an innovative approach to future learning, including in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Since its inception, ChatGPT has been remarkably used by most educators and learners. Nevertheless, its application in the flipped…

This study examined the relationship of linguistic complexity, captured using a set of lexical richness, syntactic complexity, and discoursal complexity indices, to second language (L2) learners' perception of text difficulty, captured using L2 raters' comparative judgment on text comprehensibility and reading speed. Testing materials were 180…

Natural language generation (NLG) is a process within artificial intelligence where computer systems produce human-comprehensible language texts from information. English as a foreign language (EFL) students' use of NLG tools might facilitate their idea generation, which is fundamental to creative writing. However, little is known about how EFL…

This study investigated second language learners' processing of ambiguous words (e.g., "bank": [1] a financial institution, [2] an edge of a river/lake) and whether these learners are able to activate the secondary meaning as quickly as they do with the dominant meaning. English L2 and L1 participants used a window paradigm to perform a…

Purpose: This study aims to generate empirical insights into the extent to which ChatGPT, a highly capable AI chatbot building on OpenAI's GPT family, is perceived and leveraged by EFL learners beyond the classroom. Design/Methodology: This quantitative cross-sectional investigation draws upon the technology acceptance model (TAM) as developed by…

Purpose: English as a foreign langauge (EFL) students find it difficult to apply the theoretical knowledge they acquire on translation in the practical world. Therefore, this study explored if training in pretranslation techniques (PTTs) (syntactic parsing) as suggested by Almanna (2018) could improve the translation proficiency of Yemeni EFL…

This paper shares the reflections of a small group of graduate students and faculty members in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the challenges and affordances of using large language model (LLM) tools to assist with academic writing in an English Medium Education (EME) context. The influence of interpretive grounded theory afforded the authors…

Recent studies on the use of Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) for second language (L2) learning have found that IPAs such as "Amazon's Alexa" is useful and motivating for L2 learners and that learners' language proficiency might influence their perceptions toward IPAs. However, most existing studies focused on the potentials of…

Past work has suggested that L1 readers retrieve idioms (i.e., "spill the tea") directly vs. matched literal controls ("drink the tea") following unbiased contexts, whereas L2 readers process idioms more compositionally. However, it is unclear whether this occurs when a figuratively or literally biased context…