Language Education and Technology

A Qualitative Inquiry into EFL Learners’ Opinions about an AI-Powered Speaking Tool

Mustafa Civelek — 2025-07-07

In EFL contexts, where learners have limited opportunities to practice the target language outside traditional classrooms, AI technologies hold great potential to expand practice opportunities. Thus, this paper aimed to investigate Turkish 9th-grade EFL learners’ opinions about an AI-powered chatbot developed to provide speaking practice based on what they had learned at school. The participants were 20 EFL learners studying at a public high school in Rize, Turkey. An open-ended questionnaire was employed to collect data, and content analysis was used to analyze it. The findings revealed that the chatbot, TeaTalk, was regarded as useful for enhancing speaking skills. Additionally, it supported learners in various language areas such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. The findings also showed that TeaTalk reduced learners’ speaking anxiety while increasing their self-confidence and motivation. Furthermore, the participants expressed appreciation for the corrective and constructive feedback TeaTalk provided, and they praised the friendly and engaging environment it offered. However, a few participants complained that TeaTalk was sometimes unable to comprehend their pronunciation.

AI vs. Traditional Teaching: Evaluating PaperRater and ChatGPT in Student Engagement and Writing Achievement

Akın Çöp — 2025-02-27

Traditional English teaching approaches, which rely on teacher-led feedback, might not meet ESL students' needs in a technology-driven the learning environment. Despite numerous studies on this topic, little is known about how AI tools improve writing proficiency and engagement in university-level ESL students.This study investigates the impact of two AI tools, namely PaperRater and ChatGPT, on students’ writing skills and engagement by thoroughly assessing students’ writing scores in two distinct writing tasks, an engagement scale, and their perceptions of the AI tools. A total of 45 students, divided into three groups (two experimental and one control) participated in the study. Students in the experimental groups received feedback from AI tools while students in the control group received traditional, teacher-led feedback. Students’ scores of pre-tests and post-tests unveiled statistically significant differences, with the control group showing a smaller decrease in the writing scores compared to experimental groups. The engagement scale and semi-structured interviews at the end of the study show that AI tools can complement traditional teaching methods, especially in increasing engagement, but that immediate performance improvements are difficult. This study has significant implications for language teachers and policymakers.

Implementation of the Plotagon Application in EFL Speaking Lessons: Its Effect on Speaking Anxiety and Student Motivation

Mervenur Aksoy — 2025-07-14

Teaching speaking in foreign language education has been a controversial issue because of the anxiety and motivation. Although the issue has been investigated by many researchers, it remains unclear how to decrease the speaking anxiety, and there is no study on the impact of the Plotagon, which is an interactive digital storytelling application that allows its users to create avatars, choose among scenes and shoot a film by recording their voices, on student motivation and speaking anxiety. The present article examines whether implementing Plotagon affects speaking anxiety and student motivation. 103 high school students studying in a large school in Turkey were chosen via purposive sampling, and concurrent mixed-methods research was conducted to achieve a better understanding of the target phenomenon. The quantitative data were analyzed via SPSS, and the content analysis of the qualitative data was realized via MAXQDA. Results show that implementing Plotagon in speaking classes decreased the level of speaking anxiety and motivated the students in the speaking activities by providing avatars and preparation time, contextualizing speaking, making students content creators, and allowing self-correction. The study has significant pedagogical implications for teachers who aspire to decrease speaking anxiety and motivate their students in speaking classes.

Artificial Intelligence in French and Spanish Foreign Language Education: A Systematic Review and Future Perspectives

Johanna Lea Korell — 2025-04-24

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into foreign language education has gained increasing attention, yet research on its application beyond English remains scarce. This systematic review examines the use of AI in French and Spanish foreign language education from 2018 to 2025, analyzing empirical studies conducted in (high) school and higher education settings. Following the PRISMA framework, a total of 14 relevant studies were identified and thematically categorized. The findings highlight that AI applications, particularly chatbots and automated writing tools, are primarily used to enhance writing skills, cultural learning, and critical thinking. While AI offers opportunities for personalized learning, increased engagement, and improved feedback mechanisms, challenges remain, including the risk of uncritical AI reliance, the need for digital competencies among educators and learners, and tensions between human creativity and AI-generated outputs. The review underscores the necessity for further research, particularly qualitative and longitudinal studies, to explore the long-term effects of AI on language acquisition. Future investigations should focus on productive skills, multilingualism, and the application of AI in lower intermediate levels and special needs education. By systematically synthesizing existing research and identifying gaps, this study contributes to a more informed and evidence-based integration of AI into foreign language teaching.