English Language Teaching, Issue: Vol.19, No.8

Evaluating Human and AI Translation Strategies: A Process-Oriented Comparative Case Study Across Genres

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:48:24 +0000

As AI has been increasingly applied in translation, Large Language Models (LLMs) are becoming important tools in translation practice. Both human translators and AI models employ strategies in the translation process, yet comparative studies remain limited. Using a self-developed Translation Strategy Evaluation Scale (TSES), this study drew on scientific, political-economic, and literary texts to compare human and AI translation strategies. Think-Aloud Protocols (TAPs) and AI reasoning outputs were used to examine differences in strategy types and decision-making between two human translators and two LLMs (GPT-5.3 and DeepSeek-V3.2); the Many-Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) was then applied to evaluate strategy use across four dimensions: necessity, compatibility, effectiveness, and consistency. Results show that while both shared 7 basic categories, they diverged in 4 respects. AI used abstraction and nominalization for stylistic formality; human translators performed grammatical monitoring, redundancy reduction, and discourse reorganization. In decision-making, AI followed systematic planning and rule-driven execution, while human translators relied on experiential judgment and reader awareness with ongoing self-monitoring. ChatGPT demonstrated the highest quality of strategy use across all text types. The study sheds light on the process-oriented nature of translation strategies and offers empirical evidence for integrating technological tools into translation pedagogy.

Diphthong Pronunciation Errors among Final-Year Congolese EFL Learners: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Secondary Schools in Boma, DRC

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:10:07 +0000

Pronunciation, and diphthongs in particular, remains a persistent obstacle to oral proficiency for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners whose first languages lack equivalent vowel glides, yet Congolese EFL contexts remain largely absent from the empirical literature on this problem. This study investigated English diphthong pronunciation errors produced by final-year EFL learners in public and private secondary schools at Boma, Kongo Central, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A descriptive-comparative design was adopted with 200 final-year learners (n = 100 public, n = 100 private) from 20 secondary schools; each learner completed one of three reading tasks (word list, sentence list, or paragraph) sampling all eight English diphthongs, with errors scored perceptually on a 10-token scale, and a questionnaire on pronunciation background. Results showed that the closing diphthongs /eɪ/, /aɪ/, and /əʊ/, together with the centering diphthongs /ɛə/ and /ʊə/, were the most problematic, chiefly through monophthongization and vowel substitution. An independent-samples t-test comparing public (M = 5.85, SD = 1.18) and private (M = 6.11, SD = 1.18) school learners revealed no statistically significant difference, t(198) = -1.56, p = .121, and the null hypothesis was retained. Questionnaire data implicated mother-tongue interference, limited oral practice, and insufficient explicit pronunciation instruction. These findings suggest diphthong difficulty is a shared, network-independent phenomenon rooted in first-language transfer and pedagogical gaps, with implications for pronunciation-focused teacher training and curriculum reform in the DRC.

Contextualizing Teacher AI Literacy in English Language Teaching: Developing an AI Literacy Framework for College English Teachers

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:51:07 +0000

As generative artificial intelligence continues to be integrated into higher education, teacher AI literacy has become a critical foundation for promoting AI-enhanced English language teaching. However, existing frameworks have been developed primarily within general educational contexts, with insufficient attention to the disciplinary characteristics of college English teaching. Employing a qualitative framework development design, this study established an initial analytical framework based on TPACK, AI-TPACK, the AI Literacy Framework, DigCompEdu, and the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Teachers, and then refined it through semi-structured interviews with eight university English teachers and thematic analysis. The findings reveal that college English teachers' AI literacy consists of five dimensions, namely cognitive understanding, AI application, pedagogical integration, reflective development, and ethical responsibility, which are further elaborated into fifteen contextualized domains. The findings further demonstrate that teacher AI literacy is not a simple transfer of general AI competencies but a contextualized competency system shaped by language teaching objectives, principles of language learning, and teachers' professional knowledge, as college English teachers emphasized competencies closely related to English teaching practices, including professional evaluation of AI-generated language content, AI-supported activity design, instructional feedback analysis, and guidance for students' responsible AI use. This study extends the contextualized perspective of teacher AI literacy research and provides theoretical insights and practical implications for college English teacher professional development, teacher training, and AI-enhanced language education.

Developing EFL Learners’ Feedback Literacy through AI-Assisted Dialogic Interactions in English Academic Writing: A Mixed-Methods Study

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:05:02 +0000

Feedback literacy—the understandings, capacities, and dispositions needed to make sense of feedback and use it While existing research has extensively examined AI-generated feedback in terms of writing product outcomes, the process of how learners develop feedback literacy through sustained interaction with AI remains insufficiently understood. Moreover, Carless and Boud’s (2018) framework was developed for human-to-human interaction, leaving open how its core dimensions translate into AI-mediated contexts and what AI-specific competencies might be required. To extend understanding in this area, we developed a GPT-4-based feedback bot, WriteWise, and engaged 45 Chinese EFL university students in a three-week mixed-methods experiment. We measured AI affordance for feedback literacy strategies by analyzing learner-bot conversations and evaluated effectiveness through pre-post-delayed feedback literacy tests, essay writing and revision tasks, and semi-structured interviews. Our findings suggest that AI afforded 14 sub-strategies across four main feedback literacy dimensions (Appreciating, Judging, Acting-on, and Generating feedback) plus one meta-level strategy. Appreciating and Acting-on strategies were most frequently used and significantly predicted feedback literacy knowledge and quality of English academic writing, though Appreciating strategies showed marginal significance (p < .10) for feedback literacy knowledge. However, Generating strategies (creating feedback for peers) were least utilized due to cognitive complexity and AI response limitations. We identified AI features influencing strategy frequency and effectiveness and offered implications for implementing AI-assisted feedback literacy instruction in English writing education.

Digital Transformation in English Writing Instruction for Cross-border E-commerce: A Quasi-experimental Study in Chinese Application-oriented Universities

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:13:49 +0000

The rapid growth of the global cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) sector compels a fundamental restructuring of English language pedagogy. This study investigates the efficacy of a Digital Teaching Platform (DTP) in enhancing the English writing proficiency of undergraduate students in Chinese application-oriented universities. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 204 participants: an Experimental Group (N = 103) receiving the DTP intervention and a Control Group (N = 101) receiving conventional instruction. The DTP integrates Virtual Reality (VR) scenario design, Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) prompt engineering, and data analytics literacy. Results indicate that the Experimental Group achieved a mean score of 70.15 (SD = 10.00), significantly outperforming the Control Group's mean score of 63.08 (SD = 10.66), t(202) = 4.89, p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.68. The pass rate (≥60) in the Experimental Group was 86.4%, a substantial improvement over the Control Group's 65.3%. Qualitative analysis reveals that the DTP effectively reduces cognitive load and bridges the gap between academic learning and industrial practice. These findings provide empirical evidence for the DTP as a robust pedagogical model in the digital era. The study further contributes a scalable "Dual-Helix" curriculum model and reflexive thematic evidence that the platform shifts students from writing anxiety to agentic, industry-ready practice.

Teaching English through Green Training: A Project-Based Approach in Technical Colleges

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 23:09:03 +0000

In this study we examined the effectiveness of integrating a Sustainable Environment Project into English language instruction to improve trainees’ environmental knowledge, English language skills, and learning attitudes. We employed a quasi-experimental pretest and post-test design with two groups of vocational trainees. We collected data using knowledge tests and attitudinal questionnaires before and after the intervention. The findings revealed notable improvements in both groups across all learning outcomes, with Group 2 demonstrating the greatest gains despite lower baseline performance. Post-test results also indicated highly positive attitudes towards learning English through sustainability-related projects. Overall, the findings suggest that project-based learning integrated with sustainability themes is an effective approach for enhancing both cognitive achievement and learner motivation in English language education. A limitation of the study was the variation in the number of trainees who completed the pretest and post-test due to absences during different weeks of the training semester.

Role Rotation as a Process-Oriented Collaborative Scaffold in Secondary EFL Writing

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 03:29:49 +0000

Collaborative writing is widely recognised as an effective approach to EFL instruction, yet its pedagogical value depends largely on how collaboration is organised. This qualitative case study investigated how rotating roles structured collaborative writing among 126 eleventh grade students at a senior high school in southwest China. Data were collected over a 15-week instructional intervention through classroom observations, student reflections, and paired draft–revision texts. Inductive thematic analysis identified three interconnected developmental patterns: role-guided participation, collaborative meaning negotiation, and integrated collaborative composing. Together, these patterns indicate that rotating responsibilities broadened learners’ participation beyond assigned roles, promoted more equitable contributions, and supported collaboration across multiple composing stages. Rather than functioning simply as a role-assignment strategy, role rotation organised learners’ participation in the recursive writing cycle and encouraged increasing integration of planning, drafting, feedback, and revision. These findings suggest that rotating roles provide an effective instructional scaffold for supporting collaborative writing in secondary EFL classrooms.

Designing Genre-Strategic Syllabus for Teaching Generation Z Learners Text Comprehension Strategies in English as a Second Language Contexts

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 04:49:36 +0000

Traditional English as a second language (ESL) reading instruction frequently overemphasises linguistic decoding and relies upon grammar translation method, therefore failing to equip learners with text comprehension strategies necessary for meaning construction. This pedagogical gap is increasingly exacerbated by the rise of Generation Z learners, whose cognitive patterns, characterised by an inclination towards clip thinking and a preference for multimodal, collaborative, and feedback-rich environments, often clash with conventional teacher-centred models of instruction. In this paper I propose the genre-strategic syllabus, a curricular framework designed to foster strategic reading by integrating empirically verified comprehension strategies with genre awareness and four language skills. The syllabus operationalises strategic reading through a suite of instructional techniques, including paraphrasing, reciprocal teaching, narrative structure instruction, dialogic engagement activities, and collaborative strategic reading. These teaching techniques transform abstract cognitive operations into structured tasks that are responsive to Gen Z learning preferences. Overall, the proposed syllabus reflects the principles of task-based language teaching. The study conceptualises reading as a meaning-making activity rather than an isolated skill, offering a pathway to constructivist literacy education in ESL contexts.

Reviewer acknowledgements for English Language Teaching, Vol. 19, No. 8, 2026

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 05:02:24 +0000

Reviewer acknowledgements for English Language Teaching, Vol. 19, No. 8, 2026